"Hallelujah" ( Friday) Question? How do you Respond to death and dying?

Growing up as a child within the Black Church , funerals were very much a part of my life and my earliest memories. I remember the 1st funeral that I went to, I was about 6 years old. It was my father's father. I am 50 years of age and never have forgotten that experience. My grandfather had on a brown suit and he looked different to me. When someone died, my mother and grandmother became very preoccupied with preparing meals, which they were going to send to whomever it was who had suffered a loss. There were many things about black funerals that I didn't quit understand. I didn't understand why people would carry on like that.I understand now! I went to my brother in law funeral in June of this year. That was an experience that I will never for get. He belong to a Holy-ness church. They dance and sang during the long service. During the service they put in a dvd of a program that he was a part of, he was a lead singer with a gospel group. The church went out of control with emotions. I had never been to a service like that. What are your believe about death and dying? Do you believe that the dead is in a distant heaven are still among us?
Transition is traditionally used by blacks to refer to dying. Only rarely would people say "the person died." Saying "the person transitioned," means they have "gone to the next life" and implies that the person has not left us; they have simply changed form. They're no longer physically present, and they've spiritually "passed" into the afterlife. The term "passed" also is frequently used to express this transition.
In the traditional Black Church experience, you're born, you die, and then you continue to exist in other realms. We as a people are more accepting of dying, why? Is it because we believe that a better life is in store for us.What are your thoughts on Transition?