They are not like other mourners. They are raw. “Hysterical crying,” said Jackie Berger, a florist.

Some arrive at the other extreme, showing quiet resignation, even relief.

“They knew this day was coming,” said Frank Lettera, a funeral director.

They are the parents and relatives of young men and women who died on Staten Island after overdosing on heroin. The grieving families are passing through the rituals of death in numbers never seen before: a record 72 suspected overdoses so far this year. That number far surpasses the previous record of 41, in 2014.

Florists and funeral homes on Staten Island have had an uncomfortably close view of the rising death toll. There are a limited number of these businesses on the island, and many of those who work in them said in interviews last week that they had helped lay overdose victims to rest. They described the broad range of emotions on display within this subsection of grief, from denial to blame — of others, of oneself — to disbelief.

“It’s insane,” said Ms. Berger, of Eltingville Florist. “It’s every week. Some weeks I feel like we have five kids. Once one comes in, we’ll have another one in a few days. I don’t know if they had the same batch or what.”