Planning a funeral service can be a very difficult process for families who have just lost a loved one. But it’s important to provide 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.
Burial Services
There are different services that you can choose for a loved one’s burial, depending upon your individual needs and preferences:
- Immediate burial means that your loved one will be buried or entombed without a public service or gathering.
- Visitation, also called a viewing, wake, or calling hours, allows family and friends to gather in a room with the departed loved one in an open or closed casket and say goodbye or 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. For more information, visit our page on personalization.
- Graveside, chapel, 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.
Cremation Services
The biggest misconception about cremation is that there can't be a funeral service or visitation. This is absolutely not the case, and we encourage you to consider holding a memorial service to celebrate the life of the deceased as well. There are many options open to you when it comes to honoring your loved one's life. After the cremation and memorial services, 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 a 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 also can 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.
Live or Delayed Funeral LiveStreaming
We can help you use technology to bring together family and friends from all over the world in honor of a loved one who has passed. Live streaming your loved one's service is a great way to involve those who are too ill to travel, those serving in the military, those who cannot afford to travel, or friends and family who can’t make it for other reasons.
Green Burial
According to the Green Burial Council, Green Burial is burial process with minimal environmental impact. This process aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, protection of worker health, and the restoration and/or preservation of habitat.
Green burial means that the body is buried in a simple biodegradable container with no toxic chemical embalming (which often utilizes formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals). In addition, biodegradable containers are used for burial, and concrete vaults are prohibited.