A pallbearer is a person who helps carry a coffin at a funeral.

Being chosen as a pallbearer is considered an honor. It means the deceased person or their family trusted you to help with this important final duty. Usually six to eight pallbearers work together to lift and carry the coffin from the funeral service to the hearse (the special vehicle that transports it), and then from the hearse to the gravesite if there's a burial.

Pallbearers are often close family members or friends of the person who died. They dress formally, usually in dark suits, and walk slowly and carefully together. The role requires physical strength since coffins are heavy, but it also requires emotional strength: you're helping say goodbye to someone important while your own heart might be breaking.

Sometimes people serve as honorary pallbearers, which means they're recognized for their relationship with the deceased but don't actually carry the coffin. This might happen when someone is too elderly or physically unable to carry the weight, but the family still wants to honor their connection.