Phoenixville Area Senior Center offers an educational and entertaining program as a way to prepare for end of life

When Chris Henry, a regular participant at the Phoenixville Area Senior Center, walked into the facility for their annual The Irish Wake event two years ago, she was in for a surprise.

“I was shocked when I saw the mayor of Phoenixville laying in a casket,” Henry said. “I didn’t expect that.”

Each year, Mayor Peter Urscheler serves as one of the actors where he plays the corpse. The event is intended to offer a fun way to get people talking about preparing for end-of-life.

“I consider it an entertaining event with an educational slant,” said Joann McCracken, the center’s development director. “End-of-life usually causes people anxiety and this event makes end-of-life approachable and takes away the anxiety that goes along with having to make these decisions.”

Irish dancing

This year’s event, taking place on March 21 at 5 p.m., includes dinner and entertainment, including Irish dancing, bagpiping and a sing-a-long, along with a resource fair component. The Center is expecting about 100 to participate.

“There will be another 30 who are professionals coming here to talk about things like financial planning, insurance, cemetery, funeral homes, home health and hospice,” McCracken said.

Participants of the event start out with an Irish meal complete with cottage pie, also known as shepherd’s pie, a salad, Irish soda bread and beer.

“The meal is sponsored by Helping Hands Warming Hearts,” McCracken said of the Philadelphia-based organization that provides home health to seniors, including meals.

After dinner, Irish dancing is offered by McGough Irish Dance Academy out of West Chester.

“They come dressed in their Irish attire,” she said, adding that all participants of the event are encouraged to wear green.

Irish whiskey and dessert

There is also an opportunity for attendees to win a chip that entitles them to a specialty Irish whiskey drink and dessert. To get a chip, they have to make the mayor laugh by telling him a joke.

“In the Irish tradition you tell stories about the person who died,” McCracken said. “They pretend they know the person who died.”

Dessert happens along with the information session where businesses are set up with tables on the second floor of the Center.

“There is no pressure for anyone to have to do anything at that moment or write things down,” McCracken said. “It’s a relaxed information time and you can pick up materials and go through it at your own pace and own time.”

Henry found helpful information that led her to select a funeral home she liked.

“I went up and talked to many of them and it was very informative,” Henry said. “I was going there for the fun of it and I wound up getting information.”

Importance of planning

This year the Center plans to have three funeral homes in attendance. The hope is that those who attend the event take away the importance of planning. McCracken discussed how planning for end-of-life should be akin to how we plan things for ourselves that happen when we’re living.

“You don’t go to the grocery store to pick things up day to day — you plan what you’re going to buy — and you plan for your retirement,” she said. “The result of planning is an end-of-life experience like how you would prefer it plays out versus just how it might happen.”

McCracken said it’s best not to wait until you’re sick to plan. She said she’s surprised by how many seniors don’t have wills or think they don’t need one.

“If you want your kids to be able to inherit something special, if you have grandchildren and you want to leave them something to go to college or give them, a will is important to have,” she said.

McCracken mentioned some other important things that should be considered in preparation for end-of-life, such as: Do you want to be buried? Do you want your remains put in a mausoleum, spread on a sacred mountain, or buried at sea? Do you want to die at home and bring in help so you can stay at home? Do you want to be kept alive for as long as possible or at a certain point say, ‘stop the treatment’? Do you have a healthcare advocate? Do you have a living will and power of attorney?

“There are many important aspects of planning that come with different options,” she said. “These are all things you need to have to enable your family to follow your wishes.”

The Irish Wake at Phoenixville Area Senior Center is an annual event open to anyone in the community age 21 and up and held on March 21 from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 and help fund programs and activities at the senior center. Registration is required. To purchase tickets and register, please visit www.bit.ly/PASCwake. RSVP by March 18. For more information, visit www.phoenixvilleseniorcenter.org or call 610-935-1515