As a close relation to someone who has passed, you may be part of planning the final arrangements to lay this person to rest. At a painful time like this, making decisions can feel overwhelming. The experts at Mothe Funeral Homes, LLC will gently guide you through the process and help you find services that will fit your budget and honor your loved one well. There are so many ways to do this. Let’s break down a few possible formats that could be used to care for final needs.
Traditional or Nontraditional Funeral Service: A funeral service allows the opportunity for mourners to pay their final respects and honor the deceased in the presence of the corpse. Having the casket as a central feature of the funeral service means that the funeral date is often in quick succession to the death date. In addition, a funeral can often bring closure and assist those reeling from the loss accepts this new reality.
Traditional funerals could be a series of events, including visitation with the family and possible viewing of the remains. This is held before the funeral event itself. After the honoring ceremony, a committal service could occur at the place of interment. It works just fine to have more relaxed funeral events without many meetings too.
Flexible Memorial Service: Some situations call for more time before holding the honoring events. If additional time to design service plans and gather loved ones is needed, consider having the remains cared for immediately and hold a memorial service later. Memorials also work wonderfully soon after death. Typically, the body of the deceased will be cared for before this service is held. If cremated remains (also called ashes) are available, these could be included as part of a memorial service.
Cost-Effective and Eco-Friendly Cremation Service: A modern solution to caring for the deceased is cremation. It has become increasingly popular in many areas of the United States over the last several decades. There are many reasons for this. First, the impact of limited land set aside for cemetery burial and the interment of toxic chemicals and synthetic materials is troubling to many. Secondly, it costs less to cremate the remains than to go the traditional full funeral route. Finally, there is less time required to complete cremations than other death care services, lessening the total cost.
Each cremation is performed for only one individual at a time and with care to keep a degree of dignity and respect in the handling of the body throughout. The corpse is often set inside a cremation casket which is lightweight and combustible. Once laid in the furnace chamber, intense heat is applied, and flames consume the contents in the compartment within just a few hours. The result is the tiny granular particles of dried bone—the “ashes” that remain.
In some circumstances, services could be combined for the same person. For example, this would apply in the case of someone who is receiving both a funeral and cremation in Marrero, LA. The body might be embalmed for public viewing and held inside a rented casket. After all funeral events are complete, the deceased’s body will be cremated. After cremation, the remains could be buried in an urn plot or columbarium niche. The ashes could be scattered in nature, or they might be kept at home in a funerary urn for display.