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It's been said funerals are for the living but about the person who died. As such, they are invaluable in providing closure as a necessary part of mourning. The funeral draws the wider community together into a supportive atmosphere of shared grief, and allowing everyone to express their feelings in an appropriate setting. Through the ages, humankind has always engaged in rituals or "rites of passage" as a means of crossing over life's difficult boundaries. Finally, funerals provide an appropriate setting to celebrate life, to honor one's relationship with the deceased, and to derive meaning and strength in the context of one's faith tradition.
"…better than baptisms or marriages, funerals press the noses of the faithful against the windows of their faith. Vision and insight are often coincidental with demise. Death is the moment when the chips are down. That moment of truth when the truth that we die makes relevant the claims of our prophets and apostles…..Faith is for the heartbroken, the embittered, the doubting, and the dead. And funerals are the venues at which such folks gather."
-Thomas Lynch, The Undertaking (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997): 80-81.
In most states, family members may bury their own dead although regulations vary. However, most people find it very trying to be solely responsible for arranging the details and legal matters surrounding a death.
Embalming is the temporary preservation and sanitation of the deceased by a professional licensee. This process preserves the body through the funeral period, improves physical appearance and provides public health protection. In most instances, embalming is not required by law, but is of practical necessity when the body is present at the service.
Many believe they must choose between either cremation or a funeral. Cremation is believed to be a less expensive alternative to having a funeral. Actually, cremation and a funeral are two different choices.
Cremation is a choice of how the body is ultimately treated; it does not have to substitute a funeral. When considering cremation, the choice is between cremation and burial, and either can be done in a cost-effective manner.
A funeral is may occur before or after cremation. We can give you many options to create something suitable and meaningful.
Many people think funeral homes don't offer cremation - that a cremation specialist or cremation "society" is the only choice. That is a misunderstanding. With 24-hour availability of staff and facilities to accommodate a range of ceremonies, a full-service provider, like us, is actually better positioned to serve cremation requests than cremation-only companies, whose businesses are geared toward body disposal, and a limited level of service with very few choices.
Generally speaking, the answer is no. Funeral and memorial costs, like other events such as a wedding, fall within a range. The majority of fees are based on professional services, use of facilities and automotive equipment through the funeral home. Caskets and other merchandise are variables in the overall cost, and can be selected within a broad price range.
We invite you to speak openly about any financial hardships. We gladly serves anyone, including those with financial limitations. No one has ever been turned away. Regardless of what you spend, our service quality is the same for all. We also offer several payment plans to reduce any monetary burden.
Funeral service is regulated by the FTC and state licensing boards. In most cases, the consumer should discuss problems with the funeral director first. If the dispute cannot be solved by talking with the funeral director, the consumer may wish to contact the Funeral Service Consumer Assistance Program. FSCAP provides information, mediates disputes, provides arbitration, and maintains a consumer guarantee fund for reimbursement of services rendered. (To contact FSCAP, call 708-827-6337 or 800-662-7666).
Being prepared to address this subject with a child is very important. Unfortunately, adults sometimes ignore it, wanting to protect the child. Children often become the "forgotten grievers", when their feelings get overlooked. Just as children are a part of our families, they should also be a part of our ceremonies and rituals. It's best to give gentle but candid answers to their questions, and to be honest about what none of us can answer!
Children should have the choice of participation; they should never be forced to attend. We often assume a funeral or viewing will be too traumatic for a child, but research shows that when thoughtfully explained, they have less anxiety than adults might assume.
When included, it helps children to accept death as part of life and validates their feelings around loss. The child also experiences care from family and friends, with a sense reassurance and belonging. We have brochures and other materials to help both children and adults in discussing death and funerals.
Our staff is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide immediate assistance.
Yes, they can assist you with out-of-state arrangements, either to transfer the deceased to or from another state.
WHAT TO DO WHEN A DEATH OCCURS
Contact the funeral home as soon as a death has occurred. A time will be set up with the funeral director to come in and make arrangements. The funeral home will help coordinate arrangements with the cemetery, church and clergy.
Contact us immediately, and let us coordinate with a funeral home in the area where the death has occurred. We will take charge from then on and make all the arrangements for transporting the deceased to a local funeral home for embalming and preparation for return to home. You only need contact us with some basic information and call us when you return home to set a time for an arrangement conference.
If a family member dies while traveling outside the United States, the U.S. Embassy will come to your assistance. You should call us immediately when a death occurs abroad. We are well versed in the procedures for returning the deceased to the United States.
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS
A widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled), or at any age if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled; a divorced widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled) if the marriage lasted 10 years, or if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled; unmarried children up to age 18 (19 if they are attending a primary or secondary school full lime); children who were disabled before reaching 22, as long as they remained disabled; dependent parent or parents 62 or older.
You must apply in order to receive benefits. You may apply at any Social Security office or, if you wish, you may apply by telephone. Just dial the toll-free number 1-800-772-1213 and the operator will schedule an appointment for you or arrange for the local Social Security office to take your claim by telephone. You may also visit http://www.ssa.gov for more information.
VETERANS BENEFITS
An eligible veteran must have been discharged or separated from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable and have completed the required period of service. Persons entitled to retired pay as a result of 20 years creditable service with a reserve component are eligible. A U.S. citizen who served in the armed forces of a government allied with the United States in a war also may be eligible. A 1997 law bars persons convicted of federal or state capital crimes from being buried or memorialized in one of the VA national cemeteries or in Arlington National Cemetery.
Spouses and minor children of eligible veterans and of service members also may be buried in a national cemetery. Adult children incapable of self-support due to physical or mental disability are eligible for burial. If a surviving spouse of an eligible veteran marries a nonveteran, and remarriage was terminated by divorce or death of the nonveteran, the spouse is eligible for burial in a national cemetery.
Burial benefits in a VA national cemetery include the gravesite, a headstone or marker, opening and closing of the grave, and perpetual care. Many national cemeteries have columbaria or gravesites for cremated remains. Benefits also include headstones and markers, Presidential memorial certificates, burial flags and Reimbursement of Burial Expenses, depending on the circumstances. Contact should be made to the Veterans Affairs Office to determine what benefits can be claimed and then gather the information required. The National Toll-free Number for the Veterans Affairs Office is (800) 827-1000.
Like health-care, education, housing, or transportation, the range of expenses related to funerals is a wide one and will depend upon a number of variables. Staff and professional services, use of facilities, motor equipment, merchandise, cemetery and crematory fees, flowers, music, printing - all of these may be a part of final expenses. What is very helpful is that all funeral home fees are itemized by federal mandate. No discussion of funeral arrangements will be held unless the family has a General Price List in their possession, from which to make informed decisions. The General Price List is available to anyone at anytime who requests one in person at the funeral home, whether or not they are there to make funeral arrangements. Likewise, price information is available over the phone.
The presence of the dead human body for visitation and funeral services provides a focal point for all of the changes -- social, emotional, spiritual and practical -- that a funeral service seeks to observe. In a sense, the best way to deal with a death is by dealing with the dead -- confronting the loss, honoring the memory, addressing the religious and spiritual beliefs and disposing of the dead body properly. For some families, the presence of the dead body is too painful to confront while for others, a funeral without the body present seems like the commemorative equivalent of having a baptism without the baby or a wedding without the bride. It lacks an essential witness. It is important for each family to make a decision that suits them best. In the name of convenience and cost efficiency, many people have felt that if they simply "disappear" the dead, they can avoid expenses and difficult emotions. But for most grieving people, going through, rather than around the difficult realities is most helpful and most healing.
Email any of our locations:
Hall-Wynne
Funeral Service & Cremation
Griffin Funeral Service &
Cremation
Franklin Funeral Service
Gentry-Newell & Vaughan
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