Category: Funeral FAQs

How Much Will My Funeral Cost?

This short booklet, available in pdf format, outlines the cost of a funeral.  How Much Will My Funeral Cost? FacebookTwitterLinkedinPinterest Read more

A Word About Burial Liners (written by a grave digger)

by Paul G. Huffman For those who choose burial over entombment or cremation, you will make the added selection of a burial container to protect the casket. The available selections include burial liners, lawn crypts and vaults. To make this decision wisely, you not only need to consider the differences among them, but also what it is you’re protecting the casket from. Read more

Earth Burial, Tradition in Simplicity

 What is a “traditional” funeral? In early America, home funerals were the practice everywhere, and each community had a group of women who came in to help with the “laying out of the dead.” Visitation was held in the front parlor followed by a procession to the church and cemetery. Read more

Light, Like the Sun

by Frances Newton
This article has appeared twice in The Reader’s Digest and was recommended by the president of the Raritan Valley Memorial Society, Roberta D’Angelo. Father was 87 when he died. And I, at 41, had never before seen death, knew nothing of funeral rites. Read more

How to Inspect a Crematory for above-board operation

In England, almost all crematories are on the grounds of a cemetery, with an attached chapel for services. Consequently, the British are much more open and knowledgeable about cremation. That tradition has followed to this country, most noticeably in Massachusetts, New York, and Texas. Read more

Cremation Explained, Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS CREMATION?
Cremation is the process of reducing the body to ashes and bone fragments through the use of intense heat. The process usually takes from two to four hours. The cremated remains are then pulverized to break up larger bone fragments to a granular texture. Read more

Green Burial

WHAT IS GREEN BURIAL?
Green (or natural) burial emphasizes simplicity and environmental sustainability. The body is neither cremated nor prepared with chemicals such as embalming fluids. It is simply placed in a biodegradable coffin or shroud and interred without a concrete burial vault. Read more