A memorial service is a ceremony as casual or as formal as you choose to remember your loved one and share memories and moments. A service/visitation can be as personalized as the family desires, and the body or cremated remains may or may not be present.
After you select the location, date, and time of the service, you can choose readings, musical selections, food or beverages, decor, and activities, as well as the people you'd like to participate. The staff at our funeral homes are happy to assist with these arrangements.
A celebrant is a layperson, not clergy, who has been trained to conduct formal ceremonies, such as weddings, baptisms, and funerals. A celebrant works closely with surviving family to create a ceremony that reflects the beliefs, cultural background, values, and aspirations of your deceased loved one and your family. Call one of our funeral homes to get more information.
While we are happy to explain the many options, we cannot determine the best choice for your family and its needs. Through our explanation of the options, we hope to empower you to make the best decision for your family.
Cost varies with the options selected during the arrangement conference. The General Price List that our funeral homes provide will detail the cost of our basic professional services, as well as the cost of any ancillary products or services you select. You can also visit the online planning section of our site by clicking the "Plan Online" link on the top right of the page.
Purchases of items or services from outside vendors—such as the cost of publishing a newspaper obituary or fees for musicians or flowers—incur extra charges. Your funeral director will provide a detailed invoice for all such items, which must be paid in advance.
Since vendors require payment at time of delivery, we must charge for them at the close of the arrangement conference. Expect to pay at the time the service contract is signed (at the time of the arrangement conference, or soon afterwards). If special financial arrangements are needed, speak with a funeral director.
Yes; we strongly encourage families to write their own obituaries since they are such a personal memory of the loved one. They can be short and to the point or more lengthy and creatively crafted, but be aware that most newspapers charge—often by length—to publish obituaries.
When you call the funeral home after the loss of your loved one, we must obtain authorization for cremations from the legally identified next-of-kin, as well as those from any necessary agencies, such as the medical examiner. During the mandatory 48-hour waiting period in Wisconsin, the deceased will be held in a secure, dignified environment.
Memorial services are meaningful events designed for the living, so you can hold such a service—before or after the cremation.
No; however, if you want to have a public viewing or visitation, our funeral home policy requires embalming in the interest of public health.
We do our best to accommodate the wishes of surviving family members. Most commonly, families will ask to place notes, children's drawings, or other personal messages of love. However, we do not cremate valuable jewelry or metallic objects that may interfere with the equipment used for cremations.
Yes. Among the families we serve, nearly half choose to view or be present for the cremation. Families that have experienced cremation at our cremation center have compared the process to that of watching a vault go into the ground at the cemetery or watching a casket go into a mausoleum crypt.
There are many variables, including type of cremator and size of individual. The process usually takes 2 to 2-1/2 hours, followed by a cool-down period. Then the cremated remains are processed for a uniform appearance. Since we own and operate our own crematory, our turn-around time is superior to funeral homes that outsource cremations.
Yes. A funeral director cannot prevent you from—or charge you extra for—purchasing a third-party cremation urn. And they cannot demand you are present for its delivery to the funeral home.
There are many options. Some families take them home for remembrance and safekeeping. You may decide later if you’d like to scatter them on land or sea or use the cremated remains in keepsake jewelry or to create meaningful pieces of art.
Yes; remains can be buried underground in an urn or placed above ground in a columbarium, which has smaller niche spaces, large enough for one (or maybe two) cremation urns.
The cost of cremations can vary, so we encourage you to speak with a funeral professional for more details. You can also visit the online planning section of our site by clicking the link at the top right of the page.
Our cremation equipment runs on extremely clean-burning natural gas, and our process surpasses even the most stringent environmental requirements.
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