Frequent Questions

A funeral or memorial service pays respect to your loved one and honors a life lived. It provides an opportunity to express our thoughts and feelings about the death of our loved one. It gives us permission to grieve our loss, share in solidarity, and gain strength from others who are experiencing the same loss.

The funeral director’s job is to assist the bereaved in various ways to help them through the loss of a loved one. The following list is not all-inclusive, but it describes some of the major tasks of a funeral director: 

• Removal and transfer of your loved one from the place of death to the funeral home
• Professional care of your loved one, including embalming, casketing, and cosmetology
• Consulting with family to make arrangements for the service
• Filing certificates, permits, and other required forms
• Obtaining copies of the death certificate
• Making arrangements with a crematory and/or cemetery
• Creating and publishing the obituary
• Arranging clergy, music, flowers, transportation, pallbearers, and special fraternal or military services
• Directing and managing the service and the funeral procession
• Assisting the family with death-related claims, including Social Security, VA insurance, grief counseling

Planning ahead is a very wise decision with many benefits for you and your family. To put plans in place, simply give us a call today to get started or visit our Start Planning page.

• Advance directives concerning the disposition of remains and memorialization*ul**li*These instructions may be found in a will, or there may be a formally witnessed disposition directive, funeral pre-arrangement, or preneed contract.*/li**/ul*
• Military Discharge Papers
• Details on any cemetery property owned by the deceased or the family (grave plot, columbarium space, etc.)
• A recent photograph of the deceased and any personal effects that you wish to be included in the viewing or burial
• *ul*Specific information on the deceased: 
• Full legal name
• Address
• Marital status
• Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Place of birth (city and state)
• Educational history (number of years of schooling)
• Armed Forces service dates and serial number
• Occupation or profession
• Parents’ names, including mother's maiden name
• Next of kin and other survivors*/ul*

Yes, you can still have a viewing, service, and burial when choosing cremation. The only difference is that the cremation would take place after the funeral, and the burial of the urn would occur at a later date. It is actually very important to have a funeral or memorial service even when choosing cremation, as services are to honor and remember your loved one and to offer family an opportunity to begin healing.

We can help you make the arrangements for transporting your loved one into our care. We encourage you to visit our page about Away From Home Assurance to learn more about this related cost-saving option.

The cost depends on the services selected and the time commitment required by our staff. On average, funeral directors spend about forty hours making arrangements and ensuring every detail of the service has been considered. Also included in the cost are the professional services related to the ceremony and reception and the purchase of a casket, urn, or other merchandise. The price of operating and maintaining the funeral home facility is a contributing factor as well.