Guenther is the family service adviser at St. Joseph Cemetery in Lansing, and a large part of her job is helping Catholics preplan their burial arrangements so that their families are not left making decisions while grieving. She has worked as an aide to families planning funerals for 15 years and has been at St. Joseph for the last 10 years.

“Preplanning is basically the best gift you can give to your family,” Guenther says. “Your family members don’t have to wander around a cemetery and wonder ‘where would my loved one want to be buried?’ That can create a lot of stress and a lot of pressure. This takes all that away.”

Many families whose loved ones unexpectedly die are quickly hit with a barrage of decisions to make: Where should they be buried? Should they be cremated? What sort of music and readings should be used at the funeral Mass? Where and how do we host a visitation?

Making decisions about these important end-of-life moments before we die frees up our loved ones to mourn and lay us to rest more peacefully, Guenther says.

“Sometimes people need time because it is something they put on the back burner,” she says. “They don’t want to think about it or deal with it. But then, what will trigger people is when they lose someone close. But once they’re here and they’re done preplanning, the relief they feel is overwhelming."

At St. Joseph Cemetery, Catholics can choose and purchase a grave space, learn about and decide if they want burial or cremation. While the Church permits cremation, she has a long-standing preference for the burial of mortal remains. Families can also choose monuments, and pay fees associated with burial, among other things. Caskets and urns need to be purchased through a funeral home, and details about the funeral Mass should be planned with the deceased’s parish.

Another benefit to preplanning is that you can pay for all the elements up front, locking in the cost, whether it is done a few months or many years before your death. All the costs associated with death — funeral home expenses, burial expenses, a casket, etc. — can leave a family struggling if they aren’t prepared. Death is not cheap, and Guenther says she has worked with families who have to sell items from their homes or make things to sell in order to pay for a loved one’s burial.

Thankfully, Guenther adds, families can know that if they come to St. Joseph to plan, they won’t be taken advantage of, which unfortunately does happen. The Diocese of Lansing Cemeteries office offers zero percent interest on payment plans for burial arrangements, financial assistance for those in need, free burials for infants, and free burials for those whose families don’t claim them.

The Catholic Church’s understanding of death means families are well cared for in the Diocese of Lansing, she says.

“What I love is that the Church shows so much respect for the deceased. Even cremated remains should be put in a cemetery and treated with the same respect that a body is treated with,” she says. “That makes me feel good. Not everyone believes that.”

Guenther and her husband joined the Catholic Church four years ago, partly due to her experience working for St. Joseph Cemetery. Her dad was a Baptist minister, and she worked with him in his church growing up. After working at another cemetery for several years, she applied to work at St. Joseph, even though the job listing said the person hired should be Catholic and Guenther wasn’t yet.

“I thought, ‘If that’s where God wants me, that’s where he’ll put me.’ And here I am,” she says.

During that time, she and her husband had been trying to find a church to call home. Someone invited them to attend the Church of the Resurrection in Lansing.

“God moved and put things in place for us,” she says.

Guenther says she finds joy in her work, and regularly walks the cemetery, praying for those buried there.

“To me you’re here, resting, sleeping,” she says. “It’s a garden where people are waiting for Christ’s return.”