At the funeral planning appointment in Treuchtlingen, Central Franconia, Nadine Großmann has many decisions to make: Pastorfreelance wedding officiant, cremation or urn? The 35-year-old is planning her own funeral – and she is in perfect health. Nevertheless, she believes it is important to deal with the topic of death early on. It is important to her that the song “The Sound of Silence” is played. She wants to leave other aspects, such as the flower decorations, to her two children later, as she explained to Bayerischer Rundfunk.

Father died early

It is no coincidence that Großmann is already dealing with the topic of death in his mid-30s. A few years ago her father, her only remaining parent, passed away Cancer. It was only shortly before his death that he began planning his funeral.

There wasn’t much time left. The 35-year-old remembers a particularly painful moment: “I received a catalog of urns where I had to choose one that would suit my father. And that was a really bad moment that stuck because you had the feeling that it didn’t do him justice at all.”

Since then, Großmann has been clear: She wants to take the burden off her children later on and take care of the most important things herself at an early stage. Despite everything, planning her own funeral isn’t a negative thing for her: “I actually don’t have a bad feeling because I think that just because I plan and organize it today doesn’t mean it will happen tomorrow.”

Planning your own funeral: “Like dental care”

The Association of German Undertakers confirmed that more and more people are opting for funeral arrangements. He referred to the Forsa death report 2022. The reasons for this are demographic change and the fact that children often live further away as adults. In addition, they do not want to burden relatives with the organization and costs.

For Nadine Großmann, one thing is certain: “Well, because I don’t have any diagnosis or therapy at the moment, I’m doing well. I’m happy and content right now. This is preventive care, like dental care or like cancer care: without panic, without fears.” The 35-year-old chose an urn with a Ginko tree print. A special symbol. Such a tree was planted for the baptism of their children.