Cremation Information

The popularity of cremation in the United States has been on a steady rise for the past 50 years. As the popularity grows, we receive more and more questions about cremation. Many people are still confused about cremation, and we often hear misconceptions about cremation. This section of our website is committed to teaching you all about cremation. The pages below have been written by our cremation professionals in hopes that families can improve their education about cremation and feel more empowered when making end-of-life decisions. Often people struggle to decide if cremation is right for them or their loved one. The starting point to this decision is to first understand and become informed with the facts of cremation. 

Download Our Free Cremation Pre-Planning Guide

What is Cremation?

Part of making funeral arrangements on behalf of a loved one involves choosing between burial of the body, or cremation. Certainly this is a big decision, based on any number of factors: religious or spiritual beliefs, finances, or ecological awareness are just some of the reasons we've heard for choosing cremation. Before you can make the choice, you need to know exactly what it is you're considering. You can learn the basics below, however, if the content here raises additional questions for you, please give us a call. One of our cremation specialists will address any of your inquiries or concerns.
Make Cremation Arrangements

The Cremation Decision

What are some factors that you will have to consider when deciding on cremation? All of them are deeply personal and significant: there are your spiritual/religious beliefs, your level of environmental consciousness, financial considerations, and the expectations of your immediate family and your wider social group. 
As you dive into the pages below, have these questions in mind: 

1) How do you feel about the idea of cremation? What about burial? Purely based on emotions, which one makes you feel better? 

2) Is cost a big concern for you? When it comes to end-of-life planning, are you most interested in saving you and your family money? 

3) What does your religion say about cremation? Will your religious or spiritual beliefs have a great impact on the decision to cremate? 

4) Do you have concerns about reducing pollution and being as environmentally friendly as possible? 

5) How do you think your family and friends will react to your decision? What are their end-of-life plans? 

What is Required to Arrange for Cremation?

Once the cremation-over-burial decision has been made, all that's required is authorization. This is provided by the person who is the legally identified or appointed next-of-kin. Once all authorization documents are signed, and service charges are paid; the body can be transported from the place of death to the crematory and the cremation process can take place. However, there are some additional things you may wish to consider, such as:
  • Is there a special set of clothes (such as a military uniform or favorite dress) your loved one would appreciate the thought of wearing? This will be a focus of the cremation arrangement conversation, and you will be advised by your funeral director as to your best options regarding jewelry or other valuable personal items.
  • Are there any keepsake items you'd like to include in their cremation casket? Perhaps there's a special memento, such as a treasured photograph or letter? We sometimes suggest family members write cards, notes or letters to their deceased loved one, and place them in the casket prior to the cremation.
  • Would you or other family members like to be present for–or participate to some degree in–your loved one's cremation? Because we know how healing it can be to take part in an act of "letting go", we welcome the opportunity to bring interested family or friends into the crematory. Please discuss your desire to participate with your funeral director.
  • What will you keep the cremated remains or ashes in after the cremation or the service? Many families are simply unaware that they can purchase a cremation urn to be placed in a special place such as the family home. We offer a large selection of urns that will help memorialize your loved one. Ask one of our caring funeral director's to see the wide variety of urns.

How Does Cremation Work

The traditional cremation process involves reducing a body at very high temperatures until it is nothing but brittle, calcified bones. These are then processed into what we commonly call ashes. Returned to the family in a temporary urn (or a more personal urn selected by the family), these ashes can be kept, buried, or scattered. Some families even choose to place a loved one's cremated remains in a hand-crafted piece of cremation art.

Author Michelle Kim, in How Cremation Works, details the cremation process: "In modern crematories, the body is stored in a cool, temperature-controlled room until it's approved for cremation. The body is prepared by removing pacemakers, prostheses and silicone implants. The body is then put into a container or casket made out of flammable materials such as plywood, pine or cardboard."

The container is placed in the retort or cremating chamber. It takes anywhere from two to three hours to reduce an average adult to ash. When the cremated remains are cooled, they are processed to a uniformly-sized pebble-like substance and placed in an urn. The funeral director then returns the cremated remains to the family.

Benefits of Cremation

It has always been an on-going debate: cremation vs. burial. Lately, cremation has been winning the battle as the more popular choice. The American cremation rate has been steadily on the rise for the past 30 years. The year of 2015 marked the first time the cremation rate was higher than the burial rate in the United States.

So, why cremation? Everyone has their own personal reasons for choosing cremation, but we have noticed 6 key benefits of cremation: 

Cost

On average, cremation is generally 45-50% cheaper than burial. Cremation allows you to avoid the big purchases of items like a headstone and a casket.

Cemetery Availability

Plots at cemeteries are becoming more and more scarce. The cemetery you wish to be buried may not have plots available when you pass. Also since the supply of burial plots shrinks the cost of them has been on the rise. Cremation allows you to avoid the trouble of finding a plot.

Flexibility

With cremation, you have several options in terms of what you can do with your loved one’s ashes. You can scatter your loved one’s ashes, store them in an urn, hold a small portion of it in memorial jewelry, blast them as apart of fireworks, and do some many other creative things with ashes.

Environmental Concerns

Cremation is considered to be more environmentally friendly than burial. Often the deceased is embalmed using harsh chemicals for a wake before he/she is buried. People have been critical that these chemicals can seep through a casket and create water and soil pollution. Secondly, burial plots take up land space and disturbs the Earth to inter a casket. Crematories do release carbon emissions into the air, but new technology is really starting to reduce the amount and impact.

Simplicity

Often times, when people choose a traditional funeral they choose to have their loved one buried as well. In contrast, cremation is more associated with memorial services and celebrations of life. Memorial services and celebrations of life can be much simpler if you choose them to be. Since these ceremonies are more based on what you want and are less about common rituals, you can choose just how complicated and sophisticated the ceremonies are.

Less Strict Religions

Many people are starting to move away from tradition due to religions having a more relaxed stance on cremation. Catholics believe that the soul is immortal and does not depend on the physical body. Since cremation of the deceased's remains do not affect his or her soul, according to the Church, there are no doctrinal objections to the practice (Bryner, 2016). The less strict beliefs of the Catholic church are becoming another reason that people are choosing cremation rather than burial.

Are You Ready to Talk About Cremation? Contact Our Funeral Home in OK

We want you to know that no matter your reasons for choosing cremation, we're here to help you explore your options. When you're ready, call us to set an appointment or simply drop by our office. You can also send us an email via our online contact us form.
Learn About Our Cremation Options
Sources:
  1. What is Cremation, Cremation Association of North America
  2. Mathisen, Tyler, "Cremation is the Hottest Trend in the Funeral Industry"