Can proceed be used to mean an event that occurs after another?

Solution 1:

The answer is that your use of proceed is non-standard. If you look at any dictionary, such as the online Cambridge English dictionary, you will notice that in none of the many examples is the verb used transitively (with a direct object. Proceed is a transitive verb. So you cannot "proceed a funeral". The verb is intransitive.

In the nearest examples to yours, you will find the verb can be used with a preposition. So it gives

his lawyers decided not to proceed with the case.

You could say that

a person's death precedes their funeral.

However, it seems too obvious to be worth saying. Similarly,

So when you look up a verb in the dictionary, check and see whether it is listed as 'transitive' (or 'trans') or 'intransitive' (or 'intrans'). The online dictionaries do not always whether they have transitive or intransitive uses. You may need a full paper dictionary for this information.