Monthly Archives: January 2023

Break the Mold with a Traditional Funeral

These days, its more unique to have a traditional service at a funeral home in Oakland, CA than a modern service like a cremation, a celebration of life, or other casual, more “fun” services.

These shifts have made the traditional funeral home service more of a novelty. In fact, if you want to break the mold, you should consider having a traditional funeral. Here’s what you should include to make your lost loved one’s funeral traditional:

Prelude Music – The service is usually opened by an instrumental song, oftentimes piano or organ.
Scripture and Sermon – The officiant will read from the Bible, generally passages about life, death, and resurrection. The officiant will also usually give a short sermon based on some fact from the deceased’s life or on hope after loss.
Eulogy and Tributes – One of the deceased’s close family or friends will give a tribute speech, called a eulogy, to honor their life, who they were, their values, and their legacy. After, the officiant will give time for other service attendees to stand up and say a few words about the deceased. Sometimes these tributes are arranged ahead of time, and other times they are spur of the moment.
Welcome, Prayer, and Singing – The officiant, usually a priest or pastor, welcomes the guests and prays over them. After, the congregation sings one or two traditional hymns.
Flowers – Flowers were originally included in funeral services to mask the smell of the body decaying. Thanks to modern preservation, that’s no longer necessary. However, decorating funerals with flowers is now considered traditional, and it’s hard to find a service that doesn’t have any. The beauty and fragility of flowers conveys something of a picture of life and death. Plus, they are a wonderful way to decorate the space as mourners prepare to honor the life of the departed.
Food – Funerals also almost always include a reception following the service with food, drinks, and companionship. This is to meet the desire to gather together over a meal to comfort one another, reminisce, and share stories of sweet memories.
Music – Almost every funeral and modern service include music. Traditional funeral services are often held at church and will typically include hymns sung by the congregation. Sometimes they also include solo singing or tribute songs to honor the deceased.
Closing and Recessional – The officiant will give a closing remark, usually a prayer, benediction, or even another song. Then, the pallbearers will carry the casket to the hearse, upon which it will be taken to the cemetery for burial or the crematorium for cremation.
Burial – Traditional funerals oftentimes have the casket with the deceased inside displayed at the altar or front of the funeral home. They will also usually be followed by an internment service in which the casket is buried.

We are here to help if you want more information about traditional funerals at Oakland, CA funeral homes. Call or visit us today to learn more about what we can do for you in your time of loss or preplanning.

Temporary Urns After Cremation Services

Temporary urns are small, unassuming containers usually made of cardboard or plastic. They’re designed to temporarily house cremated remains, generally with the remains inside the temporary urn in a plastic bag. Your lost loved one’s remains most likely won’t be returned to you in a decorative or permanent urn after their cremation service in Oakland, CA. Instead, you will pick them up or they will be delivered to you in a temporary urn. But what do you do with a temporary urn? And how do you transfer the remains into a permanent urn? Here are some tips for using a temporary urn.

You can keep your loved one’s remains however you see fit, whether in a temporary urn or some other receptible. Most standard temporary urns measure approximately 8.5″ x 6.5″ x 4.5″, though there are other some other sizes on the market. Most funeral homes and cremation providers will use temporary urns if you have not provided an alternative or if you have not purchased an urn from them because it is a bit more respectful to transport remains in a temporary urn rather than just in a plastic bag.

You can have the funeral home transfer the ashes for you. If you aren’t comfortable handling your lost loved one’s cremated remains, you can have your funeral home or cremation provider transfer the ashes into a permanent urn for you. Funeral homes are required by law to use the container of your choice, even if it is purchased from an outside source. You can have the urn delivered directly to the funeral home and skip the temporary urn completely, or drop the remains off with the permanent urn once it arrives.

If you want to keep your lost loved one’s cremated remains at home or in a columbarium, you will most likely want to transfer them into a permanent urn. You can easily transfer the remains yourself. To do so, open the temporary urn and remove the plastic bag with the cremains inside. Then, put the plastic bag into the permanent urn and close the lid or bottom panel. You do not have to take the remains out of the bag. You may use wood glue or caulk to seal the urn, but this is not required as long as the ashes remain in the plastic bag.

You can also keep the temporary urn. Your lost loved one’s cremated remains will be just fine in a temporary urn. You don’t need to buy a fancy urn if you don’t want to or if you don’t have the funds. While temporary urns aren’t ideal for displaying ashes, they are great for burying or scattering. Most cemeteries will require a burial vault, so you can just keep the remains in the temporary urn and put both inside the burial vault. If you plan to scatter your lost loved one’s cremains, you can keep them in the temporary urn until you do so. You can also place the temporary urn with the cremated remains inside a permanent urn as there are many urn options that are designed to be large enough for this purpose.

We are here to help if you want to learn more about urns or Oakland, CA cremation services. Call or visit us today.

Collecting Cremated Remains From Funeral Homes

If your loved one is cremated after their service at a funeral home in Oakland, CA you will have to collect their cremated remains. But how? Where? And from who?

This information about collecting cremains after a cremation or funeral home service is here to help guide you:

Who can collect cremains? The deceased’s next of kin or a person designated by the next of kin are the only ones allowed to collect cremains. If you are the next of kin and can’t collect them for some reason, you can designate someone else to collect them for you by contacting the provider and providing their information and your permission for them to pick the cremains up.
What are the steps for picking up cremains? Usually, the funeral director or cremation provider will call you to set up an appointment to collect the cremains. When you arrive, they director will show you the urn and cremation certificate, you will show your ID, and then you can take the cremains home. It’s always a good idea to bring someone with you when you pick up cremated remains as it can be a very emotional experience. Also, the exact process for picking up cremains may vary from provider to provider, so be sure to speak with your director.
Can funeral home dispose of ashes? Funeral homes and cremation providers can dispose of ashes if they are unclaimed or the next of kin requests that service. Some have crypts or burial spaces for unclaimed ashes, and most will keep a record of what they do with the remains in case the family wants to know in the future.
How long will a cremation provider or funeral home hold ashes? The exact length of time a funeral home or cremation provider will hold ashes varies from provider to provider and even from state to state. In some cases, it can be 60 days up to 4 years. If you need the funeral home to hold onto the cremated remains for you, just ask. Most funeral homes can accommodate you. However, high-volume funeral homes won’t always be able to hold onto cremains as they don’t have extra space. When the time limit passes, the provider can dispose of the ashes as they see fit.
What happens to unclaimed cremated remains? Sadly, some cremains do go unclaimed. The most common reason is because the next of kin wanted the cremains shipped to them, but they never provided a shipping address or a payment method for the shipping costs. In these instances, the cremation provider will try and contact the next of kin, but if they do not receive a response, they will stop calling as it’s the responsibility of the next of kin to retrieve the cremains.

We are here to help if you have any other questions about cremated remains or Oakland, CA funeral homes. Please call or visit us today to learn more about what we can do for you in your time of loss or preplanning.

What Happens When You Die?

Many people don’t know much about death, funerals, and cremation services in Oakland, CA. Are you wondering what happens when you die? Here is information about the body as it goes through the final stages of life and onto the next.

The first thing that happens after a death is the body stops working. There are many ways the body can stop working, but it often includes loss of interest in eating a drinking, slowing of breath, and the eventual shut down of all the organs. Once the brain begins to shut down, the body may make involuntary movements and, when death has occurred, the bowels and bladder may evacuate. Decomposition begins a few minutes after death with a process called autolysis, which is when enzymes destroy the cells and tissues in the body. The brain is usually the first organ to begin autolysis. After about 25 minutes, the body will enter pallor mortis, which is when it pales from lack of blood flow. Livor mortis, or the blood vessels collapsing and pooling, happens about an hour or two after death. Then the body moves into Algor mortis, or cooling. It cools about 2 degrees every hour until it reaches the temperature of the air around it. Finally, the body enters rigor mortis, which is when it stiffens from muscle chemical changes.

After death, a medical professional will always check a body for signs of life before making a death pronouncement. These signs of life include pulse, breath, reflexes, and pupil dilation. If there are no signs of life, they will pronounce death. Next comes the death certificate. The local government or state will officially record the death and create the death certificate. The death certificate is completed by the doctor, certified by the state, and passed along to the next of kin. After death pronouncement, the family will be notified of the death by another loved one or a doctor, nurse, coroner, or police officer. After receiving word of a death, its best for the bereaved begin preparing for the funeral or cremation right away. They should call the funeral home or cremation provider as they will help guide the bereaved through next steps.

Burial or cremation come next. Depending on the deceased’s final wishes, the body will either be buried or cremated. After the cremation, the remains can be scattered, buried, placed in an urn, or a manner of other final dispositions. There’s also service planning. The deceased’s next of kin will make arrangements for a funeral service or memorial service. Oftentimes the deceased will have left instructions for such a service. In these cases, the next of skin should follow the instructions. If the deceased did not leave instructions, the funeral director or cremation provider will help guide the deceased through the planning process.

We are here to help if you want to learn more about what happens after a death or Oakland, CA cremation services. Call or visit us today for more information about what we can do for you.

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