What is a Funeral Service?
Funeral services are ways for family and friends to give a final tribute to someone they have lost. A service may be an act of closure where loved ones make their final farewells or celebrate a person's life. Having a service allows people to come together and share stories and memories about someone they will miss. It is a way for people to show their respect to the family of someone who has passed on. A service may take place immediately after a death with a casket present or may take place months or years later when a family is ready to say goodbye. There is no set way or correct way to have a service. Each service can be made as unique and as distinctive as the people the services are for.

Traditional Services - a traditional service refers to a standardized idea for funeral services for various cultures and religions. It may generally include a period of time which may be hours or days for friends and family to be able to view or visit the deceased to pay last respects. This period is followed by a formal service at the funeral home, a church or other facility which may follow various cultural or religious traditions as well as including personalized tributes. At the end of the formal service, the deceased is taken in a procession from the place of the service to the cemetery for burial or entombment. At the cemetery, a short graveside service may be said and final farewells paid. A gathering may then take place at a family members home or at a banqueting facility for friends to reminisce and comfort one another following the services.

Graveside Services - a graveside service is exactly what is sounds like; a short funeral service at the graveside of the deceased. This service may follow a traditional service or precede a memorial service. It may also stand alone as a final service. Viewing or visitation of the deceased at the funeral home may take place before a graveside service.

Memorial Services - a memorial service refers to funeral services at the funeral home, a church or other facility with no casket present at the service. A memorial service may be scheduled after a graveside service or may be scheduled days, weeks or any number of months after final disposition has taken place. Viewing or visitation of the deceased may take place before the service just as in a traditional service. A memorial service generally has pictures of the deceased and personal items that were significant or meaningful to the deceased set up in the front of the facility as representation instead of a casket. A gathering may follow this event just as it may follow a traditional service.

Personalized Services - a personalized funeral service is one where no rules need apply to the way family and friends say their last good-byes. It means that anything may be added to any type of formal funeral service that will make it more of a reflection of the deceased. Special music, certain musicians, home movies, open mike tributes, pictures, flowers, balloons, the release of doves or butterflies, a selection of personal items, specific poems or readings from a book may be present in a personalized funeral service. A personalized service may simply allow for family and friends to cope with the death of a loved one in a non-standardized way.

Cremation Services - cremation is a type of final disposition just like burial or entombment. For people who choose cremation as a final disposition, any of the previously mentioned funeral services may be held. Cremation only specifies the final disposition of the remains of the deceased.

Pre-Need Planning - pre-need planning is a chance for people to investigate, understand and prepare, to a certain degree, for the eventuality of death. Biographical data may be recorded, as well as a person's own requests for a final funeral service.

Pre-Need Funding - pre-need funding is a way to set aside money for funeral expenses, cemetery expenses, and often a little extra for family members to help settle small expenditures at the time of need. Pre-funding is also the only way to guarantee that your wishes for final disposition are carried out without changes. At the time of death, the person legally responsible for making final arrangements for you will be able to decide if you will be buried or cremated, have a funeral or a simple memorial. You may insure that your wishes will be carried out by writing down those arrangements and placing money aside in some form of trust or insurance policy. Pre-funding a trust or policy and making it irrevocable is also a way to protect a small amount of money for final expenses if you are receiving SSI or if you are concerned about money dwindling as long term care becomes necessary.

Merchandise
One of the many decisions that must be made during arrangements for final disposition is the choice between burial or cremation. It is a commonly held belief that if cremation is chosen then there can be no funeral service or visitation before the body is taken to be cremated. This is not true. Cremation is only specifying what final disposition will be. A full traditional funeral service with visitation may be held. One of the other decisions that needs to be made in conjunction with burial or cremation is the type of container for the body to be buried or cremated in. If cremation is chosen, a rental cremation casket may be selected or a casket of combustible materials will be necessary. Another decision to make regarding cremation is the type of urn for the cremated remains. The types of urns will vary greatly from the very simple to enduring works of art that may be displayed in a home or placed in a cemetery niche.

If burial is chosen as a final disposition, the choices of caskets are much greater. A variety of different types of metal and wood caskets are available. Metal caskets are available in bronze, copper, stainless steel and steel. The varied costs for the different caskets comes from the costs of the different metals, the quality of workmanship in working the different metals, the varied hardware that decorates the exterior of the caskets and the type of interior fabrics and fabric workmanship. Wooden caskets are available in many different species of wood including mahogany, cherry, oak, maple, pecan, pine and poplar. Again, the varied costs of the different wood caskets comes from the rarity of the species of wood, the workmanship in constructing the casket, the type of finish on the wood, the exterior hardware and handles, and the type of interior fabric and fabric workmanship.

Monuments
Leonard & Marker Funeral Home specializes in the design and sales of all sizes, colors, shapes and styles of monuments as well as a wide range of markers, including bronze markers and wall plaques. Some of the many considerations in choosing a permanent monument that we can assist you with include cemetery regulations and restrictions, style and design, materials available for monuments, lettering, inscriptions and cost.