When you first begin the process of designing a funeral, the decisions you'll face might seem overwhelming at first. We're here to help you tackle the choices one by one and make the journey one of love, healing, and life celebration.
The process can be broken down into two stages: decisions regarding the service and how you'd like to honor your loved one's life, and decisions regarding how you'd like to care for your loved one's physical remains.
Stage 1: Designing a Service
A funeral experience is vitally important in healing after loss
It’s often seen as easier to not have a funeral or memorial service, and it's certainly seen as a less expensive alternative. But in all our years of experience helping families through this difficult time, we can honestly say an easier, seemingly cheaper path is not always the better one. Grief experts all agree: a funeral or memorial experience plays a critical role in helping family and friends heal after the loss of a loved one. Without that chance to come together, to draw support from family and friends, to cry and laugh, to reminisce about all the great times together and to remember a wonderful life lived, a void will be left that extends the grieving process.
"Funerals as Unique as the Life Lived"
Life is full of opportunities to show someone we love them. One such important opportunity is the funeral or memorial service. Such a loving event celebrates the incredible life they led, the relationships you shared and remembers the legacy they leave for all who knew them. All of these funeral experiences are important pieces in helping family and friends heal after loss.
Whether it's formal or informal, traditional or offbeat, a funeral provides an opportunity for family and friends to gather and support one another in taking the first steps of their healing journey. A service can take place in any setting - at your home, outdoors, or at our facilities, for example - and can incorporate music, poetry, or art in the celebration of a life well-lived. There are endless possibilities for what the service can be, and we're honored to go above and beyond in our duty to meet your personalized and specific requests.
Our staff is experienced in understanding and graciously accommodating the needs of all beliefs, faiths, lifestyles, and relationships. We're here to answer your questions and guide you through the decisions you'll need to make, and will encourage you to take your time to figure out the most meaningful and fitting way to honor your loved one and incorporate the elements that you and your family find meaningful.
Stage 2: Caring for a Loved One's Physical Remains
A difficult and emotional choice, but we’ll help you through it
Once you've chosen how you'd like to celebrate your loved one's life journey, the next decision you'll face is about how you'd like to care for their physical remains. This can be a difficult or emotional choice for you and your family, and we'll provide you with the information you need as we help you to consider your options and make the decision that is right for your loved one and for your family. Once you've chosen between burial and cremation, there are a few additional decisions you'll face:
- For a burial, you'll need to select a casket and a cemetery and choose between a ground burial and entombment in a mausoleum.
- For cremation, you'll need to select an urn and choose whether to bury, entomb, or scatter the cremated remains, as well as where you'd like to do so.
No matter which path you decide to take, we'll be there to support you and assist you in exploring your options and making an informed decision that feels right for you and your loved one.
