Monthly Archives: October 2022

What is the Role of a Funeral Director?

Facing the task of planning a funeral for a loved one is intimidating and difficult. You’re just starting to deal with your loss and begin the process of grieving. To have to organize and make decisions amidst all this is not easy. Fortunately, when you are using the services of a funeral home near Adelphi, MD, the staff there will do everything they can to make the process less difficult and stressful. Here are some of the things that a funeral director can help you with.

Put simply, the role of the funeral director is to help you plan and carry out your loved one’s final arrangements. They will sit down with you and go over everything that needs to be decided beforehand. They will go over any kind of merchandise you need to select, and you can choose what type of services you need. If you’re fortunate, your loved one will have already made their wishes for their final arrangements known. In that case, you will have a lot fewer decisions to make, leading to a less stressful experience overall.

Beyond selecting the services you need, you will likely have some more specific or unique requests for your loved one’s funeral. For instance, you may want to choose a particular song to be played, a certain person to officiate, or specific flowers you wish to be displayed. The funeral director will make sure that any special requests are fulfilled, so that you don’t have to worry about it. Most funeral homes will also take photos supplied by the family and create a tribute video collage. If you or your family would like to make a special contribution to the service, like playing an instrument or reading a passage, the funeral director will seamlessly tie all of this into the funeral proceedings.

Something else that the funeral director will help to arrange is transportation. This includes the transportation of your loved one’s bodily remains to the funeral home or crematory. It also includes providing transportation of your loved one to the cemetery for burial, and they will typically provide a ride for the immediate family members to and from the cemetery as well. They will also be present before, during, and after all the services take place, to ensure that everything goes smoothly and according to plan. That way, you can focus on being with your family.

These are just some of the things that a funeral director does. They are there to help you, and they will make the whole process of planning a funeral a little bit easier. With their help, you won’t have to worry so much about making arrangements and planning, and you can focus more on processing your loss and being together with your loved ones. If you need to begin making arrangements, call your local funeral home near Adelphi, MD, and they will get started right away. Then, you can move forward with honoring your loved one’s memory, and you can begin the grieving process with fewer external sources of stress.

Can You Have a Traditional Funeral with Cremation Services?

Many people choose cremation as their means of final disposition, as opposed to traditional burial. Often times, memorial services are associated with cremation services near College Park, MD, but it’s perfectly possible to have a traditional funeral service instead. The difference between a memorial and a funeral service is essentially the presence of the body of the deceased. For some families, this distinction is very important.

One of the biggest reasons a family might want a traditional funeral is so that they can have a viewing. A viewing takes place prior to the funeral service, either earlier in the day or on the day before. Many people want a viewing because it provides an opportunity for family and friends to see their loved one, one last time. It’s an important step in the grieving process to be able to say goodbye, and for many, a viewing helps to serve this purpose.

For others, having the body present at the funeral service is necessary. Usually this is for religious reasons. In these cases, having a memorial service without the presence of the bodily remains simply isn’t an option. Even if the person is to be cremated, there will still need to be a traditional funeral prior to cremation. Fortunately, this is common and perfectly possible to do. Even though many people might assume a traditional funeral will be followed by a graveside service and burial, this is not always true. Rather than traveling to the cemetery following the funeral, the person’s body will instead be transported to the crematory. Cremation services will take place, and the family will receive their loved one’s remains back in the form of ashes a few days later.

After this, it will be up to the family what they want to do next. If their loved one expressed a wish for their ashes to be scattered in a special place, then this can be done. The family may choose to have their ashes buried in a family plot, or interred at a columbarium. They might instead choose to store their ashes in an urn, to be kept within their home. You can also find many keepsake urns and items that can allow several different households or family members to keep a part of their loved one with them at all times. There is even keepsake jewelry that can be worn, and is designed to hold a small amount of ashes.

As a family dealing with the loss of a loved one, all you can hope for is that your loved one’s wishes will be able to be met. Your funeral home and provider of cremation services near College Park, MD, has lots of experience with many different families and all kinds of situations. They will be happy to help you figure out a plan that works for your family, including if you wish to have a traditional funeral followed by cremation. Then, you can move forward with your loved one’s arrangements and focus on being with your family.

Learning More About Green Burial

As the effects of climate change on our planet become more obvious, people are looking for more eco-friendly alternatives in all aspects of life. It could be the car they drive, bringing their own bags to the grocery store, recycling, or even how they choose to be buried after they pass away. If you or a loved one would wish for a more eco-friendly burial, you can speak with your funeral home near College Park, MD, to find out more about your options there. Here are some ways that many people are making their final arrangements “greener”.

One of the biggest issues that traditional burial has when it comes to the environment is the harmful chemicals that it sometimes requires. For example, many people who are buried will undergo the embalming process, so that family and friends can say a final goodbye. This process of preservation uses some toxic substances, such as formaldehyde, that are able to enter the soil after burial. That’s why some families are choosing to skip the embalming process or use a more eco-friendly formula. While these don’t last as long, they may still allow immediate family members to have their final goodbye.

Another source of harmful chemicals is the caskets themselves. Many caskets are made from hardwood, which is a valuable material in itself, but they are also often treated with substances that prevent deterioration. These substances will keep the casket intact much longer underground, but they are also very toxic to the soil. By choosing an untreated and sustainably-harvested wooden casket, you can avoid putting these chemicals into the ground. Alternatively, you can opt for a biodegradable sustainable material like cotton, hemp, bamboo, or silk.

Beyond these things, there are even more ways to make a burial “greener”. These will not be options at every cemetery, but there are some that will be more accommodating. For instance, rather than having a headstone or traditional grave marker, some families choose to plant a tree or a special shrub as a natural grave marker for their loved ones. Perennial flowers and rocks are other options. This can be a beautiful, living memorial to them. Some places will not use a concrete vault for burial, which creates less of an impact on the earth and also avoids the high-energy use required to manufacture the vaults themselves. If the cemetery requires a vault to avoid the land sinking over time, find out if it can be placed in such a way that the casket can be exposed to the soil and able to naturally return to the earth.

These are some of the most common and feasible ways to have a “greener” burial. Many people have made the choice to take more responsibility for their personal impact on the planet, and having a more eco-friendly burial is just one way to reach that goal. Your funeral home near College Park, MD, can help you find ways to have a greener burial that will work with your circumstances. Then, you can take comfort in knowing that your or your loved one’s impact on the planet will be as beneficial as possible.

Why Do People Choose Interment for Their Loved Ones?

For many people, a final resting place is an important necessity after they’re gone. Whether it’s because of their religious beliefs or simply their own wishes, there are many who want their bodily remains to be laid to rest in a permanent place. If they have chosen cremation services near Adelphi, MD, they will likely be interred, either within a grave or in a columbarium.

Essentially, interment is when the ashes are placed either within a grave or inside a niche in a columbarium. Typically, they will be contained within an urn for interment. A columbarium is usually located within a cemetery, and it is an aboveground building that is intended to hold ashes. If they have opted for burial, they will likely have a gravesite within the cemetery. If several family members have chosen to be buried after the cremation, then they may be able to utilize a single gravesite. This can bring them closer together as they’re laid to rest, and it conserves land use as well.

One of the biggest reasons that people choose interment is because it provides a permanent and final resting place. Keeping a loved one’s remains in an urn within your home can be special for many people, but it’s not right for everyone. Unfortunately, throughout the years there runs a risk that the urn may become broken, misplaced, or even lost. For some families, this is not a risk that they are willing to take. Additionally, with interment, there is a marked grave or niche that family and friends can visit any time they wish. Future generations can find the resting place of their family members as well.

Some families choose to scatter their loved one’s ashes in a meaningful place. This can be a wonderful way to return a loved one to a place that they held dear in life. However, for others, the lack of a marked and maintained final resting place is an issue. Each family will need to take into account their loved one’s wishes, and if those were not known, then they will have to consider their own needs and circumstances.

Finally, many people choose interment because it is required by their religious beliefs. For instance, within the Catholic religion, traditional burial is preferred, but cremation is permitted in some circumstances. The stipulation is that their ashes must be laid to rest either in a grave or in a niche: somewhere permanent. This is another typical reason to opt for interment after cremation.

Whatever your reasons may be, interment is a very common option for people whose loved ones have been cremated. It’s important to have a permanent and marked place that they can visit when they wish to be close to their loved ones. After you have sought cremation services near Adelphi, MD, for your loved one, feel free to ask for more information about interment. They will be able to recommend trusted cemeteries where you can have your loved one laid to rest, and they can offer urns for their burial or interment. Then you can find peace in knowing that your loved one will be laid to rest, and you can visit them at any time.

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