Do hearses make house calls?

December 27, 2011 3:40 PM

In a small city in Illinois, last night we saw a hearse in the driveway of a neighbor down the block. No other cars, police, or activity were in evidence. We know this person is elderly, but we don't actually know her. Because I've seen a cab come to her house, I believe she doesn't drive, and I have seen a second, somewhat less elderly person come by and do yard work for her occasionally. This second person's car wasn't there last night either. We don't actually see our neighbor very often, especially in winter, so if she's still there, we might not see her in passing for a while. I was under the impression that if someone had died at their home, an ambulance would transport them; I don't think I've ever seen a hearse at a private home before. Was this the end for my neighbor, or did her hypothetical niece the hypothetical mortician pop in for supper in a company car or something? Anyone have any knowledge about hearse customs?
posted by Occula to Society & Culture (13 answers total)

Typically an ambulance will take the body of someone who dies, yes, so it may be that your neighbor passed away elsewhere and the body was brought to the family home by the hearse for a wake or similar event. It also may be the case that the funeral director drives the hearse to "official" business and may have stopped by the home to make plans with next of kin sans anyone in back if they were unable to make it to the funeral home. There are definitely some circumstances where a body is not transported by ambulance though, including when the deceased was involved in hospice at home, or if the deceased did not participate in the medical establishment whatsoever (for example, a Christian Scientist).

IANAMortician, but there are folks in the biz in my family.
posted by juniperesque at 3:50 PM on December 27, 2011

Here, if you have a funeral policy and the police have released the body, the funeral director will take care of the arrangements from the home (or hospital, as the case may be.)

I would imagine someone went to check in on her and notified the police, who then notified the mortuary. It is really not necessary to disturb everyone in the neighborhood under circumstances which are not suspicious and clearly not an emergency.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 3:53 PM on December 27, 2011

I'm a hospice nurse and none of my patients that die at home get taken anywhere in an ambulance. I go to the home, call the death, call the coroner for release, call the mortuary and they send over their company vehicle to get he body. Usually it is some sort of plain van but I suppose a hearse wouldn't be out of the question, especially if it was a small company.
posted by yodelingisfun at 3:56 PM on December 27, 2011

I'm positive that I've read something from ColdChef about his first day on the job, and that he drove a hearse to someone's house? However, that's in Louisiana, and maybe laws are different there?

The Coroner's Office for Lake County, Illinois has a FAQ page that outlines the legal responsibilities of the state coroner's office immediately after a person's death. Here's part of it:

The Coroner is responsible for investigating and determining cause of death as follows:
Section 5/3-3013: Every Coroner, whenever, as soon as he/she knows or is informed that the dead body of any person is found, or lying within his/her county, whose death is suspected as being:....A natural death where the decedent was not attended by a licensed physician or occurring within 24 hours of admission to hospital…

Shall go to the place where the dead body is and take charge of same and shall make a preliminary investigation into the circumstances of the death.

In Texas, this happens via ambulance (the coroner's office does not transport bodies in a hearse, as that's just for funeral homes), and I would guess the same is true in Illinois. However, maybe she died, was taken to the coroner's office, released, and then there was a wake at her home with her body there?
posted by Houstonian at 4:03 PM on December 27, 2011

My father died at home; lucky me, I got to find him. First thing I did (couldn't think of anything else to do) was call the police non-emergency number; they arrived, called the EMTs, who like the police arrived withour sirens or lights, and my father was officially pronounced dead. Since it was clearly a natural death, and he had pre-arrangements with a funeral home, that funeral home was called to come pick him up; they sent an fullsize unmarked, windowless black van (not an ambulance), loaded my father on a gurney (in a bodybag) and took him to the funeral home itself. No autopsy, no hospital or ambulance involved.

This all happened 1-2 a.m., and as mentioned without any lights, sirens or any other alarms from any of the various vehicles; indeed, it all went so quietly that when I told a couple of the neighbors that morning, they all said they'd had no indication anything had happened, even though it was right next door.
posted by easily confused at 4:05 PM on December 27, 2011

My father died at home, of cancer. When he was finally dead, my mother called the funeral home with whom she had already made arrangements, and they sent a hearse to take him away.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:06 PM on December 27, 2011

I know of someone who elected to transport her own father to the funeral home in the back of her panel van.

I worked for a community based palliative care service. When someone died at home one of the staff would generally certify the death and the funeral home would then come and collect the person. Ambulances were really only involved in the case of acute events, panic or the family being unprepared.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 4:16 PM on December 27, 2011

Thanks, all. I'll keep an eye out for Neighbor or other activity, but it seems likely that she has died.
posted by Occula at 4:58 PM on December 27, 2011

When my grandmother (who was a home hospice patient) died at home in California last month, I called 911. They dispatched paramedics and a sheriff's deputy who then called the mortuary of my choice. The mortuary showed up about an hour later in a plain white van to take away her body.

Does your county coroner have an online presence? Ours updates daily with all deaths in the county and location where they occurred.
posted by buggzzee23 at 5:42 PM on December 27, 2011

I work with hospice here in Tennessee. When a patient in hospice care dies here and is released by the coroner, we call the funeral home. Depending upon which one we call, they may come out in a full dress hearse or a first-call car (usually a panel van). They may dress in full tails or less formally, depending upon their own custom.
posted by Old Geezer at 6:35 PM on December 27, 2011

When my dad died in Cook County, Illinois, a hearse came to the house. I think if it's not an emergency (ie. in Hospice) and is expected there's no reason for an ambulance, the funeral home handles it.
posted by Bunglegirl at 9:26 PM on December 27, 2011

As a professional funeral director, I often go to homes where there are no police or coroners present. As stated above, when hospice is involved, no one else is required. There are never ambulances at a residence by the time I get there.

The only other thing I can add is that I never take a hearse to a home unless I'm picking up a body. I make business calls in my personal vehicle. Sometimes, if my hearse is engaged or if the call is down a long dirt or gravel road, I'll pick up the body in my personal vehicle (it's a modified Expedition). I don't make business calls in my hearse for this specific reason: its presence in front of house is exactly what you've guessed at--someone has died inside.
posted by ColdChef at 6:47 AM on December 28, 2011

While I agree that yes, it's likely that your elderly neighbor has died, there is one possible alternative reason for that hearse: there are people who collect and restore old hearses to serve as their personal transportation.
posted by easily confused at 3:33 PM on December 28, 2011