People associate lilies with funerals, but nowadays sprays etc are colourful and include just about every flower there is and I am sure they bring a little joy on a sad day to the grieving relatives. Sorry about your loss.
It's all down to personal tastes, I guess. I think they're such a waste of money. When my wife's Grandad died just after notching up 100, we bought a HT rose bush aptley named courage. We planted it in our garden [and got one for the son he had lived with] My daughter was very upset at the time, but she wrote a lovely note and we popped in the hole for the rose first. What about buying a rose for his/her next of kin?