Sometimes the thought of planning a funeral seems too difficult for those who've suffered a loss. We're here to help lighten your burden and remind you of the true value a ceremony can hold for you and your family.
The Healing Power of Funeral Services
Coping with a loss is never easy, and services are an essential part of the recovery process. A Funeral service provides those who are grieving with a supportive environment in which they can begin to find closure, say goodbye, and come to terms with the loss. Gathering with friends and family gives everyone the opportunity to connect, share memories, offer words of sympathy, and create a lasting network of comfort and support as they start the journey toward healing and peace. No matter the setting, style, or direction you choose, our professional staff are honored to assist you in creating a service that reflects your loved one's unique life journey.
Burial Services
There are different elements you can choose from when arranging a burial, depending upon your individual needs and preferences:
Visitation (also called a "viewing", "wake" or "calling hours") allows family and friends to gather with the departed loved one (in an open or closed casket) and gives everyone the opportunity to say goodbye and offer their support and sympathy to the bereaved.
Funeral or Memorial Services can take place at a funeral home, in a church or even at your home. The service is a ceremony which serves to celebrate, honor, and remember the life of the deceased. Whether traditional or unique, both the visitation and the funeral service can be personalized to reflect the individuality of your loved one.
Graveside or Committal Services are held at the cemetery, and allow family and friends to be present as their loved one is transferred to his or her final disposition through ground burial.
The following items are those that are included in a Traditional Funeral Service:
~Basic Services of Funeral Directors and Staff Our basic service charge includes, but is not limited to, staff to respond to initial request for service, arrangement conference with family or responsible party to determine services desired, planning of funeral arrangements, coordinating service plans with cemetery, crematory, vault company, and/or other parties involved in the final disposition of the deceased, sheltering of remains, preparing and filing of necessary certificates and permits, and placement of obituary notices. In addition, this fee includes a proportionate share of our basic overhead costs. This fee for our basic services and overhead will be added to the total cost of the funeral arrangements you select. (This fee is already included in our charges for direct cremations, immediate burials, and forwarding or receiving remains.)
~Embalming Except in certain special cases, embalming is not required by law. Embalming may be necessary, however, if you select certain funeral arrangements, such as a funeral with viewing. If you do not want embalming, you usually have the right to choose an arrangement that does not require you to pay for it, such as direct cremation or an immediate burial.
~Other Preparation of the Body Includes dressing, casketing, and cosmetology
~Use of Facilities and Staff for Viewing/Visitation or Equipment and Staff for an Off-premise Facility
~Use of Facilities and Staff for Funeral Ceremony/Memorial Service or Equipment and Staff for an Off-premise Facility
~Use of Equipment and Staff for Graveside Funeral Ceremony
~Transfer of Remains to Funeral Home
~Hearse and Necessary Automotive Equipment
~Memorial Register Book and Acknowledgement Cards
~Memorial Folders
Cremation Services
The biggest misconception about cremation is that there can't be a funeral service or visitation. This is absolutely not the case - when you choose to care for the physical remains through cremation, we encourage you to consider holding a memorial service as well. There are many options open to you when it comes to honoring your loved one's life: you can provide a chance for friends and family to say goodbye through a final viewing before the cremation, and you can also hold a formal service either before or after the cremation occurs. After the cremation itself, there are a variety of choices for your loved one's final disposition:
Interment means that you'll bury or entomb your loved one's cremated remains. This can be in the family plot, a memorial site, a cremation niche or urn garden, or in a variety of other indoor and outdoor locations. Ask our staff for a detailed list of interment possibilities.
Graveside Services are similar to those celebrated alongside a traditional ground burial, in which loved ones are present at the burial of the cremated remains and honor the deceased through memorial prayers or other meaningful tributes.
Scattering allows you to spread your loved one's cremated remains in a memorial garden, a cemetery, over water, or across any other meaningful site. You can also choose to scatter some of the cremated remains and retain the rest in an urn for interment or another form of disposition.
Placing cremated remains in multiple urns allows family members who are separated by distance to each feel the comfort of having their loved one's final resting place in a nearby location.