We mourn our loss of a good husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law, son-in-law, and friend. There is a sense of unfairness that Ralph’s life would end just a couple of years before retirement, which he had many plans for. We mourn his dreams that will never be fulfilled. An old proverb says that: “Life is short, but wide”. Ralph’s life may have been shorter than we hoped it would be, but it was crafted meticulously with his own hands and filled wide with many, many happy moments spent with his family, whom he deeply loved.
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.
Can dead bodies sit up?
Another environmental concern is that traditional burial takes up a great deal of space. In a traditional burial, the body is buried in a casket made from a variety of materials. In the United States, the casket is often placed inside a concrete vault or liner before burial in the ground. While individually this may not take much room, combined with other burials, it can over time cause serious space concerns. Many cemeteries, particularly in Japan[77] and Europe as well as those in larger cities, have run out of permanent space. In Tokyo, for example, traditional burial plots are extremely scarce and expensive,[78] and in London, a space crisis led Harriet Harman to propose reopening old graves for "double-decker" burials.[79] Some cities in Germany do not have plots for sale, only for lease. When the lease expires, the remains are disinterred and a specialist bundles the bones, inscribes the forehead of the skull with the information that was on the headstone, and places the remains in a special crypt.
At present there are four crematoria in operation at BIRKENAU, two large ones, I and II, and two smaller ones, III and IV. Those of type I and II consist of 3 parts, i.e.,: (A) the furnace room; (B) the large halls; and (C) the gas chamber. A huge chimney rises from the furnace room around which are grouped nine furnaces, each having four openings. Each opening can take three normal corpses at once and after an hour and a half the bodies are completely burned. This corresponds to a daily capacity of about 2,000 bodies... Crematoria III and IV work on nearly the same principle, but their capacity is only half as large. Thus the total capacity of the four cremating and gassing plants at BIRKENAU amounts to about 6,000 daily.[35]
With the passing of my mother on January 31, all I really knew was she had pre-paid for her service with National Cremation Society. After making a few calls to various areas, I finally got an answer in their Tampa office who immediately told me that New Smyrna was in the Oviedo area. With one answer of the phone, NCS took over the entire situation with speed and professionalism. Stephen and his entire staff handled everything from pickup to shipment of the remains to Pennsylvania. My wife and I couldn’t be more grateful and are now considering having NCS handle our passing.
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... Read More
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... Read More
Today, about half of people decide that cremation is the right choice for them. Whether or not to be cremated is a personal decision that only you can make. The best way to make an informed decision is to learn as much as you can about it. We have a comprehensive section of information relating to cremation that can help you understand how the process works and what type of questions you should ask in order to decide what’s right for you. Visit our cremation section.
Is a funeral service necessary?
The cremation rate varies considerably across countries with Japan reporting a 99% cremation rate while Poland reported a rate of 6.7% in 2008. The cremation rate in the United Kingdom has been increasing steadily with the national average rate rising from 34.70% in 1960 to 75.44% in 2015.[128] According to the National Funeral Directors Association the cremation rate in the United States in 2016 was 50.2 percent and this was expected to increase to 63.8 percent by 2025 and 78.8 percent in 2035.[129]
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. Is it OK to wear jeans to calling hours?
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... Read More
Debra and the team at the Oviedo, Florida location were the best group of people I have ever had the opportunity to meet. My father preplanned his cremation with The National Cremation Society Oviedo office and when it came time to use the services they were great. I could not have had better service provided with compassion and kindness. All my questions were answered and each time I had to reach out to them I was provided with the utmost professionalism and immediate response. I could not be more pleased with the service and care provided during my family’s great loss of our loved one. Debra and all the Oviedo, Florida staff are simply the very best. Thank you all, Mike B.
In this story, figuratively, God is the Master Gardner and each one of us is his special plants. And those of us that are blessed enough to be called parents are the apprentices. And similar to this story God perfectly selected Luke’s parents to nurture and love him in Ben and Adie. Many of us are lucky enough to see the sprouts, buds and blooms of our plants while we are here on earth; however some plants like precious Lucas, the Lord has taken home to see him bloom in his garden.
