My father passed away April 2017. He had prepaid his cremation services through National Cremation in Oviedo, Florida many years prior. I met with Stephen Barreto at an appointed time. He had the file in hand, and all of the paperwork ready to start the information gathering process. He kept in constant communication through out the process, and every little special request and detail was in order when I went to pick up my father’s remains. He assisted with the death certificate process, ensured the certificates were sent to me in New Jersey, and provided an overall sense of reassurance that everything would be, and was, taken care of. I highly recommend National Cremation be it Oviedo, or any other location, as the staff was courteous, well trained, and a pleasure to interact with. Thank you so much to Steven Barreto for your kindness, patience, and attention to detail. You made everything perfect.
We are not meant to avoid life in fear of death. We are meant to live each moment fully, to connect with our environment and the people in our lives, to share the best of ourselves generously, to have courage, to do what needs to be done, and to practice our deepest convictions. Thus in the end, whenever our time may come, we can face it with peace, satisfied in our hearts that we were human and we really, really lived.
When dawn broke the apprentice ran from his slumber to the amaryllis plant just knowing he would find the plant ablaze with crimson petals, but when he came to the place where the amaryllis should have been, it wasn’t there. With his heart pounding he looked for the amaryllis at the next table and then the next not finding it anywhere, and when he looked up to see if it was at the next table, he saw the Master Gardner standing there. The Master Gardner looked at the apprentice and saw the anxious look on the apprentice’s face and asked, “Dear apprentice, what is wrong?” When the apprentice explained to the master Gardner that he couldn’t find the amaryllis plant anywhere, the Master Gardner smiled and placed his hand on the apprentice’s shoulder and said, “My apprentice, I can see that you are upset, do not worry, I have taken the beautiful amaryllis plant home for me to enjoy and tend to, I know you have loved and taken wonderful care of my precious plant, thank you, well done, dear apprentice.”
Can you be buried without a funeral?
In early 2002, 334 corpses that were supposed to have been cremated in the previous few years at the Tri-State Crematory were found intact and decaying on the crematorium's grounds in the U.S. state of Georgia, having been dumped there by the crematorium's proprietor. Many of the corpses were decayed beyond identification. Some families received "ashes" that were made of wood and concrete dust.[127]
In the Middle East and Europe, both burial and cremation are evident in the archaeological record in the Neolithic era. Cultural groups had their own preferences and prohibitions. The ancient Egyptians developed an intricate transmigration-of-soul theology, which prohibited cremation. This was also widely adopted by Semitic peoples. The Babylonians, according to Herodotus, embalmed their dead. Early Persians practiced cremation, but this became prohibited during the Zoroastrian Period. Phoenicians practiced both cremation and burial. From the Cycladic civilisation in 3000 BCE until the Sub-Mycenaean era in 1200–1100 BCE, Greeks practiced inhumation. Cremation appeared around the 12th century BCE, constituting a new practice of burial, probably influenced by Anatolia. Until the Christian era, when inhumation again became the only burial practice, both combustion and inhumation had been practiced, depending on the era and location.[8] Romans practiced both, with cremation the rule until the later imperial period.[citation needed]
Cremated remains are returned to the next of kin in different manners according to custom and country. In the United States, the cremated remains are almost always contained in a thick watertight polyethylene plastic bag contained within a hard snap-top rectangular plastic container, which is labeled with a printed paper label. The basic sealed plastic container bag may be contained within a further cardboard box or velvet sack, or they may be contained within an urn if the family had already purchased one. An official certificate of cremation prepared under the authority of the crematorium accompanies the remains, and if required by law, the permit for disposition of human remains, which must remain with the cremated remains.
Most of us would collapse under the weight of these challenges. But, Luke was so much more than his fragile body conveyed. Luke accepted his challenge of cancer in the same way he accepted everything: with remarkable strength, tremendous courage and with an indominatable spirit. His smile was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, warming all that it touches. Luke conveyed more joy, contentment and hope than anything we could have imagined possible. He came to this earth to teach each of us different lessons. Learn from him, strive to be like him. Do not let his legacy end. Talk about how his life was short, but touched many.
Some of the various Protestant churches came to accept cremation, with the rationale being, "God can resurrect a bowl of ashes just as conveniently as he can resurrect a bowl of dust." In Anglican and Nordic Protestant countries, cremation gained acceptance (though did not yet become the norm) first by the higher classes and cultural circles, and then by the rest of the population.[21] In 1905, Westminster Abbey interred ashes for the first time; by 1911 the Abbey was expressing a preference for interring ashes.[29] The 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia was critical of the development, referring to them as a "sinister movement" and associating them with Freemasonry, although it said that "there is nothing directly opposed to any dogma of the Church in the practice of cremation."[30]
Although the Holy See has in some cases authorized bishops to grant permission for funeral rites to be carried out in the presence of cremated remains, it is preferred that the rites be carried out before cremation, in the presence of the still intact body. Practices that show insufficient respect for the ashes of the dead such as turning them into jewelry or scattering them are forbidden for Catholics.[88]
Because loved ones are committing the deceased back to the earth, this intimate service is also called a committal service. A graveside service often follows a traditional funeral, but sometimes may be the only service a family chooses. Often a pastor will speak a few words of comfort (think “ashes to ashes and dust to dust”) or the funeral director may share a few remarks at the wishes of the family, but otherwise this service is usually fairly short and simple.
