Thinking About Cremation?

As more people are choosing cremation, funeral service professionals are striving to give consumers a true sense of what their many options are for a funeral service. Often funeral directors find that people have a preconception that they have fewer choices for a ceremony when selecting cremation for themselves or a loved one. Therefore, they request direct cremation and deny the surviving friends and family an opportunity to honor them with a memorial service. In actuality, cremation is only part of the commemorative experience. In fact, cremation can actually increase your options when planning a funeral. The following information is meant to help you build an understanding of what cremation is, allowing you to make an informed decision when arranging a funeral for yourself or a loved one.

Cremation is becoming increasingly popular, especially amongst the baby boomer generation. Among the many reasons for this growing trend is the breadth of options cremation provides for a final memorial service.

Cremation gives people the flexibility to search for types of tributes that reflect the life being honored. But this doesn't mean that aspects of traditional funeral services have to be discarded. Even with cremation, a meaningful memorial that is personalized to reflect the life of the deceased could include:

• A visitation prior to the service;
• An open or closed casket;
• Special music;
• A ceremony at the funeral chapel, your place of worship or other special location; and
• Participation by friends and family.

Commonly, cremated remains are placed in an urn and committed to an indoor or outdoor mausoleum or columbarium; interred in a family burial plot; or included in a special urn garden. Cremation also gives families the option to scatter the remains. This can be done in a designated cemetery garden or at a place that was special to the person. Today, cremated remains can even become part of an ocean reef or made into diamonds.

What's involved in cremation?

The body is often enclosed in a rigid container of combustible material. The container is placed in a cremation chamber where it undergoes up to three hours of direct flame, intense heat and evaporation. The container is consumed and the body is transformed into skeletal fragments, more commonly called cremated remains. The cremated remains are then processed into fine particles and are placed in an urn.

Many families choose to have full service traditional funerals before cremation. While others choose to honor their loved ones with a memorial service held after the cremation takes place. Our staff is here to help you explore options for memorializing your loved in a way that celebrates their uniqueness.