Monthly Archives: December 2020

Cremation Services on a Budget

While all of the more expensive memorialization and cremation services in Oakland, CA are lovely, there are plenty of less expensive options that are just as comforting and respectful such as:

Photographs – It’s likely that you already have lots of pictures of the deceased. Turn those pictures into a memorial by making a scrapbook, gallery wall or another display dedicated to your lost loved one.
Jewelry – If your loved one was cremated you can easily carry them with you at all times with jewelry. For example, you can put their ashes in a locket with a photo.
Charitable Giving – If your lost loved one was dedicated to a certain cause, why not make a donation in their honor? It doesn’t have to be a large donation for it to be meaningful and to do some good. You can also ask funeral or memorial guests to make donations instead of bringing flowers.
Memories – Memories of the deceased are free and plentiful. Put out a jar or dish at a memorial service and have guests write down their memories of the deceased to place in the jar. Then, read them one by one on special occasions or whenever you need some comfort in your grief. You can even make this idea digital and have people send memory emails to a special email address.
Listen to Music – Music can be very powerful. Listen to the deceased’s favorite song or artist or find a kind of music that is soothing to you in your time of loss. You can create a mix or a tape of the comforting music to play when you’re sad or to give to others who are feeling the same loss.
Plant a Garden – Plant a memorial garden in the deceased’s honor. Seeds and flowers are very cost-effective, plus gardening is a constructive way to release grief. You can always add a memorial bench or stone.
Repurpose Belongings – Instead of donating or storing your lost loved one’s belongings, see if you can repurpose some of them into remembrance items. Sew a shirt or dress into a pillowcase you can keep on your bed or on the couch or patch up their jeans to give to younger generations.
Write a Memorial – While you may not feel like a poet or an author, sometimes the act of putting your feelings into words can be very comforting and honoring to the deceased. You can write short stories of their life, create a poem to honor their memory, or just write down how much they meant to you.

You don’t have to spend a ton of money to honor your lost loved one as long as you act from the heart. Deer Creek Funeral Service is here to help if you’re looking for more tips or information on Oakland, CA cremation services? We have years of funeral and cremation experience we would love to put at your disposal, so give us a call or pay us a visit today.

What About Wills?

There are different kinds of wills just like there are different kinds of funeral homes in Oakland, CA. Do you know which kind of will is best for you and your needs?

Online Platforms – There are several online platforms that help you create your own official will. These platforms, like Willful, allow you to tailor your will to your exact needs while still maintaining status as official and legally recognized. These platforms are a good idea if you have a simple estate and won’t need any legal advice, or if you want to get started early on your will and come back to edit it later on in life. These platforms do charge for their service, but most include free will updates in the initial cost.
Holographic Will – A holographic will is simply a handwritten will that you sign and date. These wills are not witnessed. While this may seem like a simple and cost-effective option, a holographic will can present a few issues. For example, these kinds of wills aren’t officially recognized in many states. Plus, as many people don’t have legal backgrounds, these wills might be missing important will components and legal language. However, holographic wills are better than no will at all.
Will Kits – Similar to online platforms, will kits are fill-in-the-blank documents that allow you to fill in information about your estate to create a simple will. These documents are one-size fits all and don’t offer much space to customize or personalize your will, so they probably aren’t a good solution if you have a complex estate or specific needs. Also, you will have to purchase a new will kit every time you need to make changes because you get married, have children, get a divorce, or any other big life event.
Lawyer Drafted – The best kind of will is one that’s made with the help of a lawyer. Hiring a lawyer to handle your will is best because it means the document will not only be official, but it will also be customized to fit your specific needs. Making a will with a lawyer is also best if you have a complex estate, like if you have assets in multiple countries, a child with a disability, or are separated but not divorced. It’s important to note that hiring a lawyer to draft your will can get pricey – with many lawyers charging over $800 for a basic will service. However, in the long run, the money might be worth it to know that your affairs will be properly handled after you’re gone.

No matter which kind of will you want, be sure to choose one. Unfortunately, many people pass away without leaving a will. If this happens, the government will use its estate laws to handle your estate and will appoint its own executor to take care of the details. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, most people prefer to have control over their own affairs rather than leave things to the state.

Do you want more information on wills or Oakland, CA funeral homes? Deer Creek Funeral Service is here for you.

Aquamation and Cremation Services

You know there are a few different kinds of cremation services in Oakland, CA, but did you know there’s a new kind called aquamation? Water cremation, or aquamation, is a process that breaks down a body after death. It involves water, heat and chemicals, unlike standard cremation that just uses heat.

The aquamation process is actually quite simple. During the process the body is placed in a steel chamber. The chamber is then filled with an alkaline solution made up of 95% water and 5% potassium hydroxide and raised to a very high pressure to prevent boiling. The chamber, and the body in the solution, is then heated to around 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an extended period of time, from 4 to 16 hours. The heat, pressure and solution work together to break down the body, leaving only the bones. The body slowly dissolves, and the bones, once removed from the chamber, crushed into ash and returned to the family just like in a traditional cremation.

Do you want to learn more about aquamation? Keep reading:

Does Aquamation Use Acid to Dissolve the Body? – No, there is no acid used in an aquamation. In fact, the process of alkaline hydrolysis uses a material called an alkali, which is actually the exact opposite of an acid. The combination of chemicals and water work together to naturally dissolve the body without the use of acid.
Is Aquamation Safe for the Environment? – Yes, aquamation is safe for the environment. The solution used in aquamation, a mixture of 95% water and 5% alkali, is completely natural and safe. And, even if it wasn’t, by the end of the aquamation process the alkalis are completely used up. So, all that remains at the end of an aquamation is water, bones and dust.
Are Aquamation Remains Safe? – Aquamation remains are 100% safe as they are simply a mixture of bone materials, minerals, and calcium phosphate. They are also disease and pathogen-free, which makes them, in many ways, safer to handle and be around than a dead body.

What Happens to the Water Left Over After an Aquamation? – As the water left over an aquamation no longer contains any alkalis, it can be returned to the natural ecosystem just like water from a sink or a toilet – through the standard wastewater treatment facility.
What Can be Done with the Remains? – Aquamation ashes are very similar to remains left after a standard cremation, so they can be treated like standard cremation ashes. However, aquamation remains are much lighter in color and in texture than classic cremated remains. Cremated remains made from flames are often darker and denser from the various combustion reactions that occur when the body is heated under extreme temperatures. They can be kept in an urn, buried in the ground, or scattered in a special place.

Deer Creek Funeral Service is here to help if you have more questions about aquamation or Oakland, CA cremation services. Call or visit us today to learn more.

Funeral Homes Services in the Time of COVID

Large gatherings have been banned all around the world have as large gatherings could spread the COVID-19. However, just because we’re isolated from one another doesn’t mean death and funeral homes in Oakland, CA have stopped.

Is it possible to have cremation or funeral services that honor our lost loved ones when we’re in isolation? These are just a few ideas of how you can honor a lost loved one in this time of isolation.

While most indoor gatherings are limited in size or even prohibited, outdoor gatherings are still mostly allowed. This makes it easy and ideal to host a scattering ceremony to scatter your lost loved one’s cremated remains. Invite an appropriate amount of people according to your local guidelines and host the event in an outdoor space large enough for social distancing.

You can also pay it forward. If the deceased was committed to a certain cause, why not make donations in their name? You can share the chosen charity on social medias and ask others to participate in the donations to honor your lost loved one. Get creative! Ask family, friends, coworkers, and others that knew the deceased to send you photos, stories and handwritten notes. Put them all together into a memory that you can keep for yourself or share on social media. Small keepsakes are often a great source of comfort in times of loss. You can send cards, photographs, jewelry, plants or other keepsakes to those in grief to honor the deceased and give them comfort.

Try cooking the deceased’s favorite meal. Share one of the deceased’s favorite recipes and ask those interested to cook the meal on a certain date and time. Participants can share photos and talk about their various experiences surrounding the cooking and the meal. Or, as technology has made a lot of things easier included staying connected, you can have a virtual ceremony. Thanks to streaming, recording and social media technologies, it’s never been easier to have a virtual funeral or memorial service. Many cremation and funeral providers can assist families with planning and executing a virtual service.

What about virtual vigils? Vigils have long been a way to honor the deceased, so why not have a virtual one? Invite those that knew and loved the deceased to log onto a Zoom meeting, post photos or videos in a social media group, or even just light a candle and listen to a playlist at a given time. Finally, cremation allows a lot of flexibility in when a service can be held as the body is not on an embalmment clock. Unless your religion or faith dictate, there are no rules about when a memorial service needs to be held. If you chose, you can cremate your loved one and hold a memorial later on when this crisis has smoothed out.

Deer Creek Funeral Service is here to help if you want more tips on Oakland, CA funeral home services. After all, there are still many ways we can honor our lost loved ones even though we’re apart. Call today to learn more.

Blog