Overview of Cremation Services​

The number of people choosing cremation has increased significantly in the past few years, yet cremation carries a long tradition and remains largely unchanged. What is done before or after the cremation is up to the survivors, or up to you.

Contrary to what some people believe, Cremation does not limit choices, but, in fact, increases one’s options. It is a process which is performed in a respectful and dignified manner and can be memorialized in many ways.

Plan Your Tribute

Choosing cremation neither eliminates nor does it require a funeral service. Traditional or contemporary services are often planned before or after the cremation process. A funeral service followed by cremation may be similar to a funeral service followed by ground burial. They can be elaborate or simple and traditional or nontraditional. 

Here are some common examples of cremation services chosen most often by the family’s we serve. These services can be held over multiple days or can be accomplished on the same day if desired. We can tailor any of these options to meet your individual needs.

  • Traditional viewing or visitation hours (with body present), followed by cremation 
  • Cremation followed by memorial visitation (without body) at the funeral home 
  • Cremation followed by a memorial service or life celebration at your church, our chapel or reception center. 
  • Private family goodbye, followed by cremation 
  • Cremation followed by burial or interment of cremains 
  • Simple cremation with no ceremony 

What to Do With the Cremated Remains

Cremation allows families many choices for memorializing a loved one. Some families choose to keep the cremated remains with them at home or inter them in a cemetery.

Our staff can assist you with the following memorialization options, among others, for cremated remains: 

  • Outdoor Niches – The cremated remains may be safely held in an above ground columbarium niches. They are typically located within a mausoleum or chapel. 
  • Urn Garden – Many cemeteries have areas designated specifically for the interment of cremated remains. 
  • Family Plot – If you already own a burial plot or have space in a family plot, you may choose to inter the urn there. 
  • Scattering – Your loved one’s remains may be scattered in a meaningful location that can be appreciated by future generations. There are also certain services which offer scattering among the sea or the stars. 
  • Traditional Burial – In ground burial on a family plot or in special cremation areas of the cemetery. 
  • Personalized Memorialization – Inscribe your family member’s name and a special saying on a tree plaque, park bench or other special memorial. We also have custom, unique urns and keepsakes, perfect for displaying inside your home.

Personalizing Your Experience Memorable Tribute Services

Our expert staff is here to help you plan a truly memorable Celebration of Life for your loved one. Whether you are planning a burial or cremation, we encourage you to consider our Tribute Services. These offerings will forever personalize your service.

Memory Tables and Memory Collages

Remember your loved one with a memory table display. You can include significant items from your loved one’s life, including a bicycle, golf clubs, gardening tools, hunting and fishing gear, a musical instrument, a motorcycle helmet or jacket, knitting or sewing equipment…the possibilities are endless. Display special photos, certificates, achievement awards and other significant items in a customized memory collage.

Life Tribute Memorial Videos

There is no better way to remember your loved one than with a special personalized DVD tribute. Our Life Tribute video program incorporates your family’s pictures with music into a presentation that can be played at the visitation, during the service or at the conclusion of the service. You can post the video online for family and friends around the world to see and purchase additional copies to share with generations to come.

Memorial Webcasting and Taping of Services

Do you have family members in another state or overseas who are unable to attend the service? No one should have to miss their loved one’s funeral. We can broadcast the funeral service live over the Internet and provide high quality recordings.

Personalized Music

You are not limited to traditional funeral music during your loved one’s service. Customize the visitation or service with your loved one’s favorite tunes. We are happy to help your family compile special music selections to play during the services from a CD or iPod. We also have an organ available in our chapel for traditional music.

Certified Celebrant

A Celebrant is a professional who is trained and certified to meet the needs of families during their time of loss. This expert can help your family create a personalized tribute service to celebrate your loved one’s unique life. You may choose to use a Celebrant alone or in conjunction with clergy. If you want an uplifting service that pays tribute to your loved one’s life or if you are not affiliated with a church, a Celebrant service may be the perfect option.

Bagpiper

The bagpipe provides a solemn, powerful song, making it the ideal instrument for funerals and memorials. For hundreds of years, people far and wide have bid farewell to their dearly departed with the music of the pipes. We can help you commemorate a loved one with this noble music tribute.

Pallbearers

Friends, relatives, church members or business associates may serve as pallbearers. If the family would prefer, we can provide some or all pallbearers for your loved one’s service. Each pallbearer will wear a special Lily or flag pin, making them easily identifiable.

Military Honors

We can help you honor your military member with a flag ceremony, color guard, trumpeter or even a final gun salute. We work with all branches of the military and can make all the proper arrangements easily and efficiently.

Choosing a Cemetery

Even with cremation, a green burial can take place in nearly any cemetery that allows eco-friendly methods of burial. Our firm offers several options that can help you ensure that your final resting place is both environmentally-friendly and honorable. Typically, cemeteries offering green burials follow these guidelines: 

  • Offer exclusive green burial sections 
  • Prohibit the use of urn vaults 
  • Dig graves by hand rather than using heavy equipment 
  • Often plant trees or shrubs in lieu of headstones 
  • Offer designated scattering areas 

Choosing Cremation? Ask 5 Questions

1) Who owns the crematory? You have the peace of mind knowing that Haley McGinnis owns and operates our own crematories. Your loved one never leaves our care.

2) Where is the crematory located? Our crematory is located at 519 Locust Street, Owensboro, KY. Not all firms can share this information with you.

3) When can I visit? Anytime. Call us at (270) 684-9891 to schedule your visit.

4) How can you assure me you can cremate responsibly? We cremate one person at a time in our own crematory, staffed by dedicated people who sign oaths attesting to their personal commitment to our high standards.

5) How much time does it take to complete a cremation process? Because we operate our own crematoriums, we serve you more quickly – usually within 2 business days of your authorization and the county’s issuance of a permit, and a certified death certificate or cremation authorization form a coroner, if applicable.

To obtain more information on services click here or call (270) 684-9891.

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Cremation and Funerals

Choosing cremation neither eliminates nor does it require a funeral service. Traditional or contemporary services are often planned before or after the cremation process. A funeral service followed by cremation may be exactly the same as a funeral service followed by ground burial. They can be elaborate or simple and traditional or nontraditional.

Arrangements and ceremonies tend to be as individual as the persons for whom and by whom they are made. They may be personalized specifically to reflect the life of the deceased, and thus have a special meaning. Haley McGinnis is able to assist in any and all of your Funeral Service needs. To obtain more information on funeral services click here or call (270) 684-9891.

The Complete Cremation Service will be just like a Complete Funeral Service except cremation will follow instead of the casketed burial. This can be accommodated by the use of a cremation casket (casket that is designed to be cremated) or the use of a rental casket. Following the viewing, service or ceremony, and eventual cremation, the cremated remains can be buried, properly scattered, or returned to the family for safe keeping. Urns are used to hold the cremated remains. Urns can be constructed out of basic materials like cardboard or plastic, or constructed out of more protective materials like basic and semi-precious metals, ceramics, and woods.

Cremation Memorial Service is when the cremation takes place following the funeral home filing the necessary legal documents and receiving the final disposition permit from the health department. Depending on the circumstances of death, and if the family wants to view, a limited viewing for the immediate family may take place without the need for embalming. The memorial service usually takes place following the cremation and the urn is present at the service. But if the family chooses, the memorial service may take place prior to the cremation and without the urn present.

A Direct Cremation refers to a cremation being provided, while limiting services to the removal and transportation of the deceased into our care.

Importance of Memorialization

Memorialization provides a permanent, secure place for cremated remains to be placed, and for family members and descendants to honor the lives of the deceased.

Cremation allows families many choices for memorializing a loved one. Some families choose to keep the cremated remains with them at home.

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Customer Review

The Schutz Family

Kentucky

October 22, 2022

The staff ALL went beyond the call of duty. Very caring, expressed sympathy. Top Notch.