2023-10-28 02:20:00
They are actors, pensioners and also undertakers. But they have one thing in common: empathy might be their middle name. Because they give eulogies on behalf of the relatives. Then, when they are happy to place that burden in experienced hands at the hour of farewell.
There are professionals like Martin Dobretsberger, who runs the Linz funeral home of the same name, which has existed since 1894, with his wife Julia and who often also delivers the eulogy. But the basic requirement of a pleasant voice and a lot of tact are also thrown into the balance by others.
One of them is Walter Fried from Schwertberg. The retired lawyer gives around 40 speeches a year, mainly in Linz.
Long way to talk
“You have to do justice to the deceased person, have them in front of your eyes and put their personality into a framework,” says Fried. This currently costs him 290 euros; no matter whether for five or 250 mourners.
It includes talking to the relatives, writing the speech and giving a lecture lasting up to 40 minutes. “I really enjoy doing this and am happy regarding the thank-you letters followingwards,” says Fried.
As a rule, farewells are very quiet. But at the burial of a faded schnapps distiller, there was also a hearty toast at the open grave before an even heartier sip from small bottles that were handed out.
Not just deadly serious
It is no longer uncommon for deceased Harley-Davidson fans to be laid out next to their polished “machine”. Sometimes things can be expressly cheerful. For example, when a deceased member of the “five o’clock tea dance” generation entered boogie heaven with music from the golden 50s. Rarely, but certainly, farewells take place where street clothing is expressly not desired. The actress Gabriele Deutsch, who comes from Steyregg, also experiences this. With her wonderfully velvety voice and dedicated, sensitive manner, she is often booked as a speaker for “very special” funerals. This is the case, for example, when parting words have to be chosen with even more sensitivity. This can be the case when a young mother dies or a teenager loses his battle with drug addiction.
“Sometimes I start a eulogy three times over; sometimes it flows,” says Gabriele Deutsch. Special farewells sometimes have special rituals that she develops in addition to speaking to relatives. With the children who remained on earth, she made birds, which were not only given to her mother on her coffin, but also on her way to heaven.
Special rituals
“You get to know so many life stories and take away a lot of positive things,” says Deutsch. She also cites four hours as the minimum time required for preparation. The fee ranges from 250 to 350 euros. German also takes on funeral speeches that are written by relatives and professionally recited by her when the relatives might lose their voice. Funeral speaker Gabriele Deutsch (in a simple black dress) also experiences farewells that are somewhat cheerful. For example, when there was a “Prosecco party” and everyone showed up with pink scarves.
And the same applies to the speeches: the main thing is that the relatives are satisfied.
Author
Karin Haas
columnist
Karin Haas
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