Cremation FAQ

Can I still have a funeral or celebration gathering?

Families choosing cremation have the same opportunities for a funeral or celebration gathering as do families choosing burial. The choice to have cremation is just a decision about the method of disposition of a body, not a choice for or against a funeral service. Funeral service or gathering options available when cremation is chosen can include:

Cremation following a more traditional service in a chapel or church. This usually includes viewing and having the body present at the service.
Cremation with a viewing time for family and friends followed by a "memorial service" (a service without the body present).
Cremation without viewing and either preceding or following a memorial service
Cremation with viewing and no formal service.
Cremation without viewing either preceding or following a reception time for the family and friends to gather and reminisce.
Cremation without viewing or ceremony.

The family can decide whether or not the actual urn is to be present when a memorial service is planned.

After the cremation process the remains may be:

Placed in a cemetery either on a grave space with a loved one, in a columbarium or mausoleum niche or scattered.
Returned to the family or delivered to another cemetery for placement
Memorialized in other ways