Funerals fill an important role for those mourning the loss of a loved one.  By providing surviving family and friends with an atmosphere of care and support in which to share thoughts and feelings about death, funerals are the first step in the healing process.  It is the traditional way to recognize the finality of death.  Funerals are recognized rituals for the living to show their respect for the dead and to help survivors begin the grieving process.

You can have a full funeral service even for those choosing cremation.  Planning a personalized ceremony or service will help begin the healing process.  Overcoming the pain is never easy, but a meaningful funeral or tribute will help.

The funeral home will help coordinate arrangements with the cemetery.

• Bring the following information to complete the State vital statistic requirements:
  • Birth Date
  • Birthplace
  • Father's Name
  • Mother's Name
  • Social Security Number
  • Veteran's Discharge Papers (DD214)
  • Education
  • Marital Status
• Contact your clergy.  Decide on time and place of funeral or memorial service.  This can be done at the funeral home.
• The funeral home will assist you in determining the number of Certified Copies of Death Certificates you will need, pick them up and even deliver them to you.
• Make a list of immediate family, close friends and employer or business colleagues. Notify each by phone.
• Decide on appropriate memorial to which gifts may be made (church, hospice, library, charity or school).
• Gather obituary information you want to include such as age, place of birth, cause of death, occupation, college degrees, memberships held, military service , outstanding work, list of survivors in your immediate family.  Include time and place of services. Typically the professionals at the funeral home will write the obituary, but you are more than welcome to, and submit to newspapers with photo.
• Arrange for members of family or close friends to take turns answering door or phone, keeping careful record of calls.  If Social Security checks are automatic deposit, notify the bank of the death.

If you request immediate assistance, yes!  If the family wishes to spend a short time with the deceased to say good-bye, that’s perfectly acceptable.  Our funeral professionals will come when your time is right.

Burial in a casket is the most common method of disposing of remains in the United States, although entombment also occurs.  Cremation is increasingly selected because it can be less expensive and allows for the memorial service to be held at a later date/ more convenient time in the future when relatives and friends can come together.

A funeral service followed by cremation is not any different from a funeral service followed by a burial.  Usually, cremated remains are placed inside of an urn before being committed to a final resting place.  The urn may be buried, placed in an indoor or outdoor mausoleum or columbarium, or interred in a special urn garden that many cemeteries provide for cremated remains.  The remains may also be scattered, according to state law.

Viewing is a part of many cultural and ethnic traditions.  Many grief specialists believe that viewing aids the grief process by helping the bereaved recognize the reality of death. Viewing is encouraged for children, as long as the process is explained and the activity is voluntary.

Embalming sanitizes and preserves the body.  Embalming makes it possible to lengthen the time between death and the final disposition, allowing family members time to arrange and participate in the type of service most comforting to them.

The Federal Trade Commission says, "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 immediate burial."

It really depends entirely on how you wish to commemorate a life.  One of the advantages of cremation is that it provides you with increased flexibility when you make your funeral and cemetery arrangements.  For example, you may choose to have a funeral service before the cremation, with the deceased present in a casket;  a memorial service at the time of cremation or after the cremation with the urn present;  or a committal service at the final disposition of cremated remains.  Funeral or memorial services can be held in a place of worship, a funeral home or in a crematory chapel.

With cremation, your options are numerous.  The cremains can be interred in a cemetery plot, i.e., earth burial, retained by a family member, usually in an urn, scattered on private property, or at a place that was significant to the deceased. (It would always be advisable to check for local regulations regarding scattering in a public place-your funeral director can help you with this.)

Today, there are many different types of memorial options from which to choose. Memorialization is a time-honored tradition that has been practiced for centuries.  A memorial serves as a tribute to a life lived and provides a focal point for remembrance, as well as a record for future generations.  The type of memorial you choose is a personal decision.

You might choose ground burial of the urn.  If so, you may usually choose either a flat grave marker or a 24inch monument.  Cremation niches inside of a columbarium are also available at the local cemeteries.  They offer the beauty of a mausoleum setting with the benefits of above ground placement of remains.  Some cemeteries also offer scattering gardens.  This area of a cemetery offers the peacefulness of a serene garden where family and friends can come and reflect.

If you wish to have your ashes scattered somewhere, it is important to discuss your wishes to be scattered ahead of time with the person who will actually have to do the cremation ashes scattering ceremony, as they might want to let your funeral professional assist in the scattering ceremony.  Funeral directors can also be very helpful in creating a meaningful and personal ash scattering ceremony that they will customize to fit your families specific desires.  The services can be as formal or informal as you like.  Scattering services can also be public or private.  Again, it is advisable to check for local regulations regarding scattering in a public place-your funeral director can help you with this.

Yes — Depending upon the cemetery's policy, you may be able to save a grave space by having the cremains buried on top of the casketed remains of your spouse, or utilize the space provided next to him/her.  Many cemeteries allow for multiple cremated remains to be interred in a single grave space.

Uncertainty about income tax issues can add to the stress experienced from the death of a spouse.  You should meet with your family attorney and/or tax advisor as soon as possible to review your particular tax and estate circumstances.  Bring a detailed list of your questions to the meeting.  If you do not have an attorney or tax advisor, call the IRS toll-free at 800-829-1040 for answers to specific tax questions.