What Makes A Funeral

No matter where it's held, a funeral is a structured ceremony, with a beginning, middle, and end. Each is intended to engage family and friends in activities that will provide mourners with a collective grieving experience, and an opportunity to celebrate a life lived. Without a doubt, human beings have trouble dealing with profound changes like the death of a loved one. When you take this perspective, it becomes easier to understand the importance of ceremony acknowledging the tear in our social fabric and the symbolic restoration. In fact, a funeral service can be the start of a defined period of mourning for bereaved family members, marking this transition in a uniquely identifiable way. 

The Basics of Traditional Funeral Services

A funeral service, whether traditional or more modern (memorial service or celebration of life), has two functions: to acknowledge the death and lifetime achievements of an individual and to bring grieving family members and friends together in support of one another during this difficult time.

1. Visitation

This is often called a viewing or a wake. Guests come to pay their respects to the deceased by viewing their casketed body and spending time with the grieving family. A visitation can occur at any time before the funeral service.

2. Funeral Service

This event commonly takes place at the funeral home, a church, or at the graveside. It can include music, the reading of literary or religious passages, a eulogy, prayer, or the singing of hymns.

3. Committal Service

 If the family plans to bury the deceased, this stage involves the lowering of the casket into the grave, typically accompanied by spoken words or prayer. 

4. Funeral Reception

This post-service gathering (or repast) is considered a time to share memories, laughter, and support with family and friends. 

Understanding & Planning Burial Services

There are many things to consider when deciding whether to bury a recently deceased loved one or when selecting a burial during funeral pre-planning. One of the first decisions you'll need to make involves choosing the cemetery and the specific burial place within its grounds. You'll then need to select a casket and possibly a burial vault, as many modern cemeteries require their use. At some point, and this does not have to take place immediately, the decision becomes one of selecting the headstone or marker and writing the inscription. A member of our professional staff will be available should you wish to have assistance in making each of these decisions.


To view the guide, How to Plan a Burial Service, Click Here

Veteran Funeral Services

We believe the story of every veteran's life deserves to be shared. We are deeply committed to providing families with exceptional veterans services and can assist you in securing military burial benefits. When it comes time for you to make arrangements for the veteran in your life, know that our staff is both qualified and committed to providing them with the military honors they deserve.

When arranging for veterans' burial services, you can rely on us to complete all the necessary paperwork involved in obtaining the military death and burial benefits that are available. These can include a burial flag, a headstone or Marker, burial in a national or state veterans administration cemetery, and Presidential Memorial Certificate.
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