When a Death Occurs

A path in the woods covered in leaves

We Are Here For You

When a death occurs, we will be by your side to serve you. We are available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However please consider the following:

  • Death in a Medical Facility: When the death occurs at a hospital or nursing home, the medical staff will notify Beard’s Funeral Chapel.
  • Anticipated Death at Home: In this situation, notify Hospice that Beard’s Funeral Chapel is the funeral home of your choice. Many times when someone has a terminal illness, the family will elect to plan ahead with us so that they are not overwhelmed with the many important decisions at the time of death.
  • Unanticipated Death at Home or Elsewhere: In these situations, immediately call 911. The emergency medical personnel will then determine the appropriate steps to be taken.
  • Death out of state: If the death occurs outside of Arkansas, you should call Beard’s Funeral Chapel at any time of day or night, at (479) 521-8551. We can coordinate having your loved one transferred back home.

What to Expect When You Arrive at the Funeral Home

When you arrive, we will guide you through the entire arrangement process, helping you create a memorable personal celebration of your loved one’s life. Your ideas and desires will be heard, and we will use them as the foundation for the arrangement process.

Some of the first tasks we will help you with are:

    • Preparing and filing the official death certificate
    • Making decisions regarding the location, date, and time of services or celebrations
    • Selecting a casket, urn, or other items needed
    • Preparing an obituary for publication
    • Selecting pallbearers

    We encourage you to bring any photos, songs, poems, or scriptures that are meaningful to you, so that we can best honor how your loved one is to be remembered. We wish to capture the spirit of the person who’s life we are honoring. We strive to personalize the services, and work to create a fitting memorial service for your loved one.

      Please click here to read through our Resources section of this website for information on planning a funeral, writing an obituary, and more.

      What You Will Need To Bring

      This is a checklist of information about the decedent and items that will be needed when meeting with our staff:

      • Full legal name
      • Home address
      • Marital Status
      • Social Security number
      • Date and place of birth
      • Parents’ names, including mother’s maiden name
      • Armed Forces service dates (if applicable)
      • Photographs
      • Educational history
      • Occupation / place of employment
      • Clergy name / phone number
      • Survivors (names and relationships)
      • Insurance policies (if applicable)
      • Interests/ passions

      Taking Care of Personal Property and Tasks

      When a loved one passes, there are few things should be attended to in the deceased’s personal life, especially if they lived alone:

      • Make sure their home and vehicle are properly secured.
      • If they have any pets, make arrangements for someone to take care of them unless someone remains in the home.
      • Contact the postal service to forward their mail to a family member or whoever will be handling their estate.  Cancel or forward any subscriptions, such as magazines, as they are often not forwarded like regular mail.
      • If your loved one was employed, make sure to contact their employer to inform them of the death.
      • Check to see if your loved one had any upcoming appointments, so that you can notify them about the death and cancel the appointment.