There are two means of final disposition that accompany the funeral ceremony...burial and cremation.
BurialThere are two types of burials...inground burial and entombment. Following the service at the funeral home or church, family and friends proceed to a cemetery for a brief ceremony followed by an inground burial. Families can also choose between a mausoleum and an above ground crypt when available.
CremationCremation may take place before or after the funeral. Many families prefer the cremation to take place after the funeral, so the body is present for viewing during the service and present after the funeral ceremony. When the cremation occurs prior to the service, the cremated remains can be present at the ceremony in a cremation urn. The cremation urn containing the remains may be buried, placed in a niche or kept in the home. The remains may also be scattered, but it may only be done legally on private property or in international waters at sea. It is not legal to scatter cremains on public property, in any inland lake, river, stream, or canal, or to scatter from an airplane or balloon. It is suggested that a small portion of the cremated remains be held in a keepsake urn to serve as a permanent memorial to the deceased.
Cremation as an alternative to burial.Cremation identifies the process of reducing the human remains to bone fragments and ash. Before cremation takes place, the deceased is placed into a rigid combustible container which is required by the crematory. There is often a misconception that the human remains are taken out of the cremation unit or casket at the time of the cremation. This is not true. Strict regulations from crematoriums require that the human remains must arrive in a rigid combustible container or casket. This container is then placed in the cremation chamber and both the container and the human remains are cremated. Many types of containers or caskets are available for cremation. The choice of the appropriate cremation unit depends on whether or not the family wants to have a private viewing, a visitation, a service or ceremony, or none of these.
Often is it believed that as soon as the human remains are transferred from the place of death to the crematorium that the cremation takes place immediately. Normally, the human remains are placed in a special holding facility at the funeral home until the legal documentation is complete and a cremation chamber becomes available. Only one person at a time is cremated. Each cremation unit is identified with a metal tag and this tag follows through the cremation process to guarantee that the remains will be the ones of your loved one. This process takes place at a crematory facility in a special furnace called a cremation chamber or retort, and is the result of applying intense heat and flames for a period of approximately 2 to 8 hours. The time required for the cremation process depends on the weight and size of the decedent. Through this process all the substances are consumed except bone fragments and non-combustible materials. Once the cremation has been completed, there is a cooling period of several hours. Then, all non-combustible materials are removed from the bone fragments. The bone fragments are then pulverized and placed in a temporary container to be returned to the funeral director for final disposition. These remains are commonly referred to as cremated remains or ashes.
Decisions still have to be made by the family about the permanent container for the cremated remains and their final resting place. When you choose cremation you can have all the same options that you would have with a casket burial or entombment. When cremation is chosen and the cremated remains are returned to the funeral director or the next of kin, the family will also have a variety of choices for the final resting place. Families may choose to have or not have services and ceremonies, private viewing or visitations, as with a traditional burial. The choice is personal and may reflect the decedent's wishes and/or the tradition and cultural beliefs of the family.
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