About

With over 30 years of experience, Greg Marr and Associates have been a part of your family when you needed them most. At Manni Funeral Home we help families celebrate the life of loved ones with gentle guidance and individual touch.

 

Manni Funeral Home has been at the same location since the late 1920’s. The city of Portola is located in Eastern Plumas County, with close proximity to Sierra and Lassen counties. Our rural setting means that some medical care must be provided in a major medical facility far away. When a death occurs, we are still able to provide complete services to your family. By contacting us, you are spared the burden of dealing with strangers in an unfamiliar city, return travel or any phone calls to complete all the details related to final arrangements. We will provide in-home appointments if you are unable to travel to our main office.

 

You may have chosen this area as your retirement home, but your final resting place is elsewhere. Again, our personal service will handle all the details in planning a service outside of our area.

 

We are available 24 hours a day to personally attend to the needs of all the families we serve.  Please call our office at 530-832-4673 whenever you may need us.

Etiquette

When attending a visitation, funeral or burial, you might find yourself uncertain of what you should wear, say or do. We’ve put together a short guide to the basics of funeral etiquette to help you pay your respects with courtesy and consideration.

Funeral Etiquette

Attending a funeral service is an emotional experience. Keep the following guidelines in mind when expressing your support to the friends and family of the deceased:

  • Try to find out the dress code before you attend.
  • Ask beforehand about any traditions, customs or special considerations you need to take into account.
  • Don’t feel uncomfortable if you or the bereaved begins to cry. Excuse yourself if you find yourself becoming extremly upset.
  • Kind words about the loved one who has passed are always appropriate.
  • Avoid giving unsolicited advice or making comments that might unintentionally diminish the importance of the loss, such as “I’ve been through this before.”
  • Viewing an open casket is customary, but not mandatory. Act according to what is comfortable to you.
  • Be sure to add yourself to the register book.
  • If you choose to bring your cell phone into the funeral home, take a moment to make sure you’ve turned it off.
  • Sending flowers, making a donation, or giving a memorial gift are all meaningful gestures to let the bereaved know that they are in your thoughts.

Cemetery Etiquette

When visiting a cemetery, there are a number of basic rules you should keep in mind. These tips will help to keep you out of trouble and make sure you and your fellow visitors enjoy a courteous, peaceful experience:

  • Be respectful to other mourners: remember to keep your voice down when having conversations, and avoid using bad language.
  • Follow the rules and observe any floral regulations the cemetery has set.
  • Try not to remain in the cemetery after dark to avoid being charged with trespassing.
  • Follow the roadways and remain off the grass.
  • Don’t touch any monuments or headstones; this is not only disrespectful,but may cause damage to the memorials, especially older ones.
  • Never remove anything from a gravestone, such as flowers, coins, or tributes thathave been left by the family.
  • If you bring children, make sure to keep a close eye on them and keep them from running, yelling, and playing or climbing on graves and monuments.
  • Never take photos of strangers at a funeral or visiting a gravesite; it is extremely disrespectful to them in their time of grief.

Grief & Healing

Tips for Healthy Grieving

Keep the following tips in mind as you begin to recover from your loss:

  • Each of us experiences grief differently, depending on our coping style and life experiences.
  • The healing process happens gradually, and can’t be rushed or ignored.
  • It’s okay to cry… but it’s also okay if you find that you can’t. Crying is a normal response to sadness, but it’s not the only one.
  • There’s no set time frame for grieving, and different individuals may take different amounts of time to heal.
  • Allow yourself to face your feelings and express them. Try talking to a trusted friend or spiritual leader, joining a support group, or writing about your loss in a journal.
  • The mind and body are deeply connected. Though it may be hard at first, remember to take care of yourself physically so that you can allow yourself to begin to recover emotionally.
  • It’s always okay to seek professional help when you need to.
  • Losing someone you love or care deeply about can be very painful. You may experience a variety of difficult emotions, and it’s sometimes hard to imagine that the anger and sadness you feel will ever fade.

Try to remember that grief is a natural and normal reaction to a significant loss, and that you’re not alone. We are here to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a number of grief & healing resources.

Plan Ahead

Pre-Planning Checklist

There’s a lot that goes into planning a funeral. The following checklist will help you to make sure you’ve thought of everything when you begin creating your personalized plan:

General

  • Gather personal information for your obituary
  • Choose a funeral home
  • Choose a charity to direct donations to, if desired
  • Make note of any special instructions you desire for your services and final disposition

Funeral Service

  • Choose burial or cremation
  • Select a casket or cremation container
  • Choose the location and type of service
  • Decide whether you’d like to have a viewing or visitation
  • Choose a floral arrangement
  • Select which photographs and memorabilia you’d like to display
  • Consider any customs, traditions, or religious rites that are important to you and your family
  • Choose the clothing you’d like to be dressed in
  • Select music and hymns, if desired
  • Select a style for your stationery and memorial register book
  • Arrange transportation for your physical remains and your family
  • Brainstorm any additional ways you’d like to personalize the services or pay tribute to your accomplishments, hobbies, personality, and life story.

Participants

  • Choose a clergy member or officiator to preside over the service
  • Select any musicians whose talents you would like to employ
  • Select pallbearers
  • Choose friends or family members to perform the eulogy, read scripture, or prepare a speech

Cemetery

  • Choose a cemetery
  • Select a burial or cremation plot, or a mausoleum, if appropriate
  • Decide between above- and below-ground burial
  • Select a memorial or grave marker and inscription

Planning your funeral arrangements in advance allows you to take your time in deciding how you’d like to be celebrated after you’re gone. It also lets you give invaluable peace of mind to your family members by removing the burden of making those personal decisions during such an emotionally difficult time.

Explore how pre-planning can be a meaningful and valuable process which helps those you love, and removes any doubt about your end-of-life wishes.

Need Help with Your Plan?

Remember that there’s no need to make all of the decisions right away – the purpose of pre-planning is to allow yourself to take the time you need when considering your options. If you would like personalized assistance in creating your plan, consult one of our experts by contacting us to schedule a one-on-one meeting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, honoring, and remembering the life of a person who has passed away. While specific customs, traditions, and practices differ across different cultures and religions, all funerals serve the key purpose of giving the bereaved a special time and place to say goodbye and find comfort and healing in one another.
A viewing (also known as "visitation," a "wake," or "calling hours") can involve an open or closed casket, and is seen as a vital part of the grieving process. Having their loved one present often helps family and friends to accept the reality of their loss, especially for those who may not have seen him or her in awhile. The opportunity to come to terms with the death and say a final farewell is an important step on the road to closure and healing.
Embalming is a process used to sanitize and temporarily preserve the body of a person who has passed away. It can also enhance the appearance of a body that has suffered damage from an accident or illness. By preserving the body through embalming, we can give you and your family time to make personalized and meaningful arrangements, including a viewing if desired.
No. Except in rare circumstances, embalming is not required by law. However, most funeral homes do not permit public viewing without embalming. If you opt to not use embalming, oftentimes we can offer families the opportunity for a private viewing prior to burial with minimal preparation excluding embalming.
What you'll say depends upon whether or not you've already had contact with the bereaved. If you've already offered your condolences, or attended the visitation or service, simply greet the bereaved warmly and express an interest in their well-being. If this is your first meeting since the death and you're in a public setting, it's kinder not to bring up the death directly. Instead, say something like, I understand these must be difficult days for you, and perhaps ask about when might be a good time to visit, or suggest that you meet for lunch.
The grieving process doesn't end with the funeral, and it will take time for the bereaved to heal. The family will need your support for months to come, so make sure to check in on a regular basis. Drop a note, make a phone call, and continue to invite them when you make social plans; they'll let you know if and when they are ready to participate. Reach out to the family on special occasions, like birthdays or anniversaries, especially during the first year following their loss.
You should use your judgment to determine whether your child is old enough to comprehend death, and whether attending the funeral will be meaningful to them. It's important for children to be allowed to express their grief and share in this important ritual. If you bring young children, explain beforehand what they will see and experience, and make sure that they know the importance of being on their best behavior. If your child becomes cranky or noisy, remove them promptly to avoid disturbing those who are mourning.
A funeral director is a licensed professional who specializes in all aspects of funerals and related services. They provide support to the family, guide the arrangement of visitations and funeral ceremonies, prepare the body according to the family's wishes, and ensure that everything goes according to plan. They also arrange for the removal and transportation of the body throughout the process, and assist families with any legal or insurance-related paperwork they might need to file. They're experienced at recognizing when an individual is having an extremely difficult time coping with a loss, and can provide extra support and recommendations for professional help if needed.
Absolutely! Our staff has years of experience getting to know families and incorporating their loved one's hobbies, activities, interests, and unique requests into meaningful and memorable services. Don't hesitate to make a request because you think it might be too "out there"--we're honored to work with you to create a service that truly reflects and celebrates your loved one's individual life journey.
It's important that you contact the local medical authorities first (as well as the police, if appropriate), and then make sure to give us a call as soon as possible. We will work with you to make the necessary arrangements to get you and your loved one back home as quickly and easily as possible. Calling us will also help you to avoid duplication of efforts and fees.
Definitely! In fact, we encourage you to do so. Choosing cremation only indicates how you'd like to care for your loved one's physical remains, and doesn't exclude you from celebrating and honoring their life in any way. Whether you'd like to have a visitation beforehand, arrange a funeral service before cremation, or wait and hold the service after the cremation, we're happy to help you design a meaningful service to accompany the cremation.
This usually depends upon two things: the size of the individual and the type of casket or container used. A thin person in a cardboard container will take approximately 3 to 4 hours while a heavier person in a wooden casket could take approximately 4.5 to 5 hours.
First of all, cremation of multiple bodies is illegal in the US and many other countries, so the cremation chamber is not designed to hold more than one body at a time. In addition, cremation is a regulated process with strict procedures we follow to ensure we're holding our services to the highest standard possible. All necessary paperwork and fees must be completed with local authorities, and then a checklist is completed at the crematory. A metal disk with a unique ID number accompanies the remains from the time we receive the body throughout the cremation process, and after cremation occurs we attach the metal disk to the bag containing the remains. Knowing the level of respect and meticulous care with which we treat your loved one's physical remains, you can rest assured that you are receiving only your loved one's remains.
In general, the government does not regulate the scattering of cremated remains. Make sure you check with your local regulations beforehand, but most locations are usually okay as long as you are considerate and dispose of the container properly. If you wish to scatter the cremated remains on private land, it's good practice to consult the landowner first.
Yes. Autopsies and organ donation do not affect your ability to have an open-casket visitation.
A columbarium is a place for the interment of urns containing cremated remains. They're often located in mausoleums, chapels, or memorial gardens, and contain numerous small compartments, or niches, designed to hold urns.