BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Business are testing out new ways to survive an economy gutted by the coronavirus outbreak.
With social distancing and gatherings banned, JJ Duffy Funeral Home in Cumberland Rhode Island had to figure out a way to hold services that family and friends could still attend. So now, if you go to JJ Duffy for a funeral, up to five people are allowed inside the home for the service. More people than that — they stay in their cars and are directed to a spot in the parking lot where they are given a card with information about the service. Then, the service from inside is broadcast through an FM station on their car radio.
JJ Duffy Funeral Director Jeff Bernardo says having a funeral is essential to the grieving process. "We're trying to do everything we can to try and provide the most amount of services given the very difficult circumstances,” he says. "We broadcast a play-list of the deceased's favorite songs. It's something small but it allows them to sit and be present in the moment with that family, hearing those songs that are so important to that person.”
Bernardo adds that at the last funeral, there were 30 cars in the parking lot.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe reports:
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