SOMERSET — Shawn Mills and Carl Baxter and Amy Silva Rigtrup have come up with a way that will allow more people to pay their respects and watch funerals not only during the pandemic, but also for when restrictions related to gatherings are eased.

Mills and Baxter run Funeral Streaming Services and Rigtrup is the co-owner of Silva Funeral Home and Silva-Faria Funeral Home.

Mills, Rigtrup and Adam Auclair, of Auclair's Funeral Home, had a conversation about how they could improve the funeral service for families using technology. Rigtrup said acknowledgement and engagement are the most important parts of funeral services in which a person's life is being celebrated.

They talked about live streaming a virtual service through Zoom video conferencing where the family is in the funeral home, but those who would like to pay their respects and watch the service can do so by logging on to a room from their computers. A link is set up with the person's obituary on the funeral home website that can be used to access the virtual receiving line. The people who are logged on can also converse and give support to each other like they would do in a funeral home during calling hours. There is a moderator who controls the virtual receiving line. Rigtrup said the virtual receiving line can provide those stories that you didn't know about the person from people you didn't know. Baxter said the virtual receiving line helps people to give more personal condolences and comfort than writing an email. People can also watch clergy conducting services at the funeral live on Zoom. People in the virtual receiving line are muted while the service is going on. The service at the gravesite is taped so they can see it later.

"It really brings closure for families and people who otherwise wouldn't have it," Mills said. "They wouldn't have that closure of see that person and their family. The immediate members of that family need that embrace and comfort. This is the way to do it."

Mills said he was very pleased with the result of a recent funeral that was live streamed.

The family in the receiving line goes to another room where they talk to people in the virtual receiving line by Zoom video conferencing. The moderator is off site.

They are also using technology to improve the content of the funeral service. There is a link for people who may have content, like photographs and videos, to submit to the service. In the past, it has usually been the family that provides the content, but using the link allows a lot of people to submit content they might have about the person. Rigtrup said that helps to make the service even more meaningful to the family because so many people are sharing their fond memories of the person.

People at the calling hours and funeral can also ask not to be taped.

The family then can be provided with a video of the funeral service to go back and watch. Rigtrup said people can be in a fog during a funeral and people don't remember what happens. The video gives them a way to go back to see everything that happened. Videos are provided on Blu-ray and DVD.

Rigtrup said the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting how people memorialize their loved ones because of the restrictions on gatherings. The maximum amount of people allowed in the funeral home is 10 and that includes staff. She said it is a hard situation, so she wanted to be able to mimic as much as the funeral service as she could virtually. The family is let into the funeral home first and is given some private time before the live streaming starts.

Rigtrup said in the future when the gathering restrictions are eased, the live streaming could be used for people who live far away.

"We're hoping to be ahead of the new normal," Rigtrup said.

Rigtrup said everything that is being done with live streaming and technology with funerals is being done to help families as much as possible. She said it helps people to grieve. She said people grieve differently.

Mills said the goal is to reach out to as many funeral homes as possible about the live streaming services.

"Ultimately, the goal is to be able to accommodate as many families as we can," Mills said. "It's not all about the money. Half of our reward is about being able to help out the people in the situations that they're in."

Rigtrup said families don't know how many people will come to the calling hours and funeral, but the live streaming can be adapted for small or large groups, so that it doesn't add to the burden of the family.

Before live streaming, Mills had videotaped five or six funerals for Auclair's Funeral Home so that people who lived far away or could not attend the funeral could watch it. Both Mills and Baxter live in Somerset.

There is not a lot of technology involved with the live streaming and taping of the services, but there is a lot of work for Mills and Baxter.

"It's rewarding to me to do it," Mills said. "I'm happy to help out with it."