Funeral 411TM
the information you want and need
Types of services
Burial Choices
For people who choose to be buried or entombed in a mausoleum, there are a couple of choices concerning services. The most common are these:
For people who choose to be buried or entombed in a mausoleum, there are a couple of choices concerning services. The most common are these:
-
visiting hours at the funeral home either the day/evening before the service or an hour or two before the service followed by a service at the funeral home or church or synagogue. As people leave the service, they may choose to be part of the procession to the cemetery for the burial or entombment.
-
a service at the funeral home, church, synagogue, or cemetery without any prior public visiting time at the funeral home. (Family members are usually given an opportunity for some private time with the deceased at the funeral home, if desired.)
If what you have in mind is not mentioned above, please know that your funeral director will be flexible and do whatever he/she can to fulfill your wishes. Don’t hesitate to talk about them and ask questions.
Cremation Choices
Cremation allows for a variety of choices concerning services. The most common are these:
-
visiting hours at the funeral home either the day before the service or an hour or two before the service, a service at the funeral home or at the church or synagogue. At this point, people are dismissed since there is no procession to the cemetery for the burial. The body is then taken to the crematory for the cremation process.
-
the cremation process takes place first without any public visiting time at the funeral home. (Family members may have an opportunity for some private time with the deceased at the funeral home before the cremation, if desired.) A memorial service is then held at a convenient time at the funeral home, church or synagogue, or other location. The ashes may or may not be present in an urn for the service, according to personal preference.
-
the cremation process takes place without any public visiting time or service at the funeral home As mentioned above, family members may have an opportunity for some private time with the deceased at the funeral home before the cremation takes place, if desired.
With any of the choices above, the ashes can be buried in a cemetery lot, scattered, or returned to you for personal keeping. If what you have in mind is not mentioned above, please know that your funeral director will be flexible and do whatever he/she can to fulfill your wishes. Don’t hesitate to talk about them and ask questions. For more information, visit the Cremation page and the page about cremation caskets, urns, and vaults.
When someone dies, the three most common choices for what to do with the body are these:
- burial
- cremation
- anatomical gift - more commonly called "donating your body to science."
Anatomical Gift, aka "giving your body to science"
When a person chooses to donate their body for medical research, it's donated to the nearest medical school. A directory of medical schools with body donation programs can be found by clicking here. Most of the listed schools have a website that gives information about their anatomical gift program including the criteria (not every body can be donated), and what forms the require. Some even have links for you to download the forms so they can easily be printed out and completed for you to mail to them for their records. There are also convenient phone numbers for you to call with any questions.
Keep in mind that even though the body is donated immediately after death and cannot be present for visiting hours and a funeral service, those services can and should still take place. Just because the choice was made to donate, doesn't change the fact of the death and its resulting grief and need for an opportunity to pay respect and show support to the family and friends who survive.
When a body is donated to science, it is used for research and is then cremated. Most of the schools have a memorial service once a year to honor those who have given this gift so generously and the deceased's family is invited. The cremated remains can be returned to the next-of-kin so be sure to make this known to the school at the time the body is donated.
Keep in mind that even though the body is donated immediately after death and cannot be present for visiting hours and a funeral service, those services can and should still take place. Just because the choice was made to donate, doesn't change the fact of the death and its resulting grief and need for an opportunity to pay respect and show support to the family and friends who survive.
When a body is donated to science, it is used for research and is then cremated. Most of the schools have a memorial service once a year to honor those who have given this gift so generously and the deceased's family is invited. The cremated remains can be returned to the next-of-kin so be sure to make this known to the school at the time the body is donated.
