When my mother passed away unexpectedly, my siblings and I were shocked and devastated. She had previously said, "If anything happens to me, look in the hall closet." No one wants to hear or think about that, so the response was always "Nothing is going to happen to you!". Then one day it did. When we went in the closet and found a box with paperwork and an 800 number, the relief was immense. Now we knew, based on a contract signed by her, what her last wishes really were with no second-guessing. 

Who was the first female pharaoh?


The Baha'i Faith forbids cremation, "He feels that, in view of what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has said against cremation, the believers should be strongly urged, as an act of faith, to make provisions against their remains being cremated. Bahá’u’lláh has laid down as a law, in the Aqdas, the manner of Bahá’í burial, and it is so beautiful, befitting and dignified, that no believer should deprive himself of it."
A cremator is an industrial furnace that is able to generate temperatures of 871–982 °C (1,600–1,800 °F) to ensure the disintegration of the corpse.[41] Modern cremator fuels include oil,[42] natural gas, propane, and, in Hong Kong, coal gas.[43] Coal and coke were used until the early 1960s.[citation needed] Modern cremators automatically monitor their interior to tell when the cremation process is complete and have a spyhole so that an operator can see inside.[44] The time required for cremation varies from body to body, with the average being 90 minutes for an adult body.[44]

Not all that remains is bone. There may be melted metal lumps from missed jewellery; casket furniture; dental fillings; and surgical implants, such as hip replacements. Breast implants do not have to be removed before cremation.[62] Some medical devices such as pacemakers may need to be removed before cremation to avoid the risk of explosion. Large items such as titanium hip replacements (which tarnish but do not melt) or casket hinges are usually removed before processing, as they may damage the processor. (If they are missed at first, they must ultimately be removed before processing is complete, as items such as titanium joint replacements are far too durable to be ground.) Implants may be returned to the family, but are more commonly sold as ferrous/non-ferrous scrap metal. After the remains are processed, smaller bits of metal such as tooth fillings, and rings (commonly known as gleanings) are sieved out and may be later interred in common, consecrated ground in a remote area of the cemetery. They may also be sold as precious metal scrap.
On the other hand, some branches of Christianity oppose cremation, including some minority Protestant groups and Orthodox.[100] Most notably, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches forbid cremation, as a custom, but not dogmatically. Exceptions are made for circumstances where it may not be avoided (when civil authority demands it, or epidemics) or if it may be sought for good cause,[clarification needed] but when a cremation is willfully chosen for no good cause by the one who is deceased, he or she is not permitted a funeral in the church and may also be permanently excluded from liturgical prayers for the departed. In Orthodoxy, cremation is perceived by some a rejection of the dogma of the general resurrection.[101]
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]

The National Cremation Society that my dad had prepaid for was a big help when he passed away this month. Stephen Barreto with the Oviedo office contacted us after he died and was so compassionate, patient and kind to me during such a difficult time. He assured me every step of the way and I appreciated how much of a help he was taking care of all the questions that I never thought of. I highly recommend this company to those making arrangements for their family.
5 years later my mother passed at home. The central Florida office came to the house and took care of everything. They removed my mothers jewelry, which I hadn’t even thought of, and took my mother away. Before leaving, he asked me if there were any questions. He stayed and answered all my questions. And, again, they kept me in the loop the whole way. She was delivered back to me by a wonderful woman who listened to me fumble and ramble.
look at him, and talk to him.  I told him all of the time that he had to call me on the phone when he got home and tell me everything he was doing.  I always said to Adie, "you know what he'll probably say to me first??? "  Probably, "hey Jeanne, you kissed me too much".  That's how I imagine him.. all boy all the time, I wouldn't want it any other way - for sure..   
Balinese Hindu dead are generally buried inside the container for a period of time, which may exceed one month or more, so that the cremation ceremony (Ngaben) can occur on an auspicious day in the Balinese-Javanese Calendar system ("Saka"). Additionally, if the departed was a court servant, member of the court or minor noble, the cremation can be postponed up to several years to coincide with the cremation of their Prince. Balinese funerals are very expensive and the body may be interred until the family can afford it or until there is a group funeral planned by the village or family when costs will be less. The purpose of burying the corpse is for the decay process to consume the fluids of the corpse, which allows for an easier, more rapid and more complete cremation.

Do you legally have to have a funeral?


Cremations can be "delivery only", with no preceding chapel service at the crematorium (although a church service may have been held) or preceded by a service in one of the crematorium chapels. Delivery-only allows crematoria to schedule cremations to make best use of the cremators, perhaps by holding the body overnight in a refrigerator, allowing a lower fee to be charged. Delivery-only is sometimes called west chapel service in industry jargon.[citation needed]
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
The staff at the National Cremation and Burial Society Oviedo is actively involved in the community, working closely with local hospice organizations, hospitals, assisted living facilities and nursing homes. They participate in various church affiliations and have maintained a AAA rating with the Better Business Bureau. We are a full service funeral home, providing cremation and burial services, and serve Seminole, Orange, Volusia, Polk, Brevard, Lake, and Osceola counties.
My dad had a contract with National Cremation and when he passed away, we called them. We spoke with Mallory and she answered all our questions. She was super nice about everything, knowledgeable and put us at ease with the process. She made the whole thing a lot better than it would have been had she been not as accommodating to our questions. Nobody was prepared for a tough time such as this and she made a difference as well as the receptionist who already knew my name every time I called. It takes a special person to do the... Read More
The purpose of this website is to offer an affordable direct cremation service to families in the Orlando area. Compassionate Cremations Inc. is a family owned crematory. Owned and operated by Greg Banfield (licensed funeral director) and Korey Banfield (Licensed Direct Disposer). Our goal is to serve every family with the utmost care and respect during perhaps the hardest times of their lives.
As you talk about Molly in the days and years to come, you will reminisce and laugh and cry. Eventually the times of grief will grow further apart and shorter of duration, while fears that she will be forgotten will lessen for memories of  her will grow stronger. And is it not true that  all the parts of our lives from one moment to the next become simply memories?

In 1989 they moved to Las Vegas with no job, no house to go to. They stayed in a hotel and within 3 days got an apartment; and Ralph got a security job at the Showboat Casino. John says his Dad loved that job, because he got to eat prime rib with horseradish every single night. One day the kid’s school bus was shot at and the family moved again, in 1990. They went to Milpitas, California where Ralph got a job at Lockheed Martin. After 6 months he was laid off and he took a security job, which he hated. Then he was hired as a Federal police officer at the U.S. Mint in San Francisco, in 1991. Suzie remembers this time fondly, because as a teen she used to go down to the city with her girlfriend, and was allowed to roam the city freely, just as long as she checked in with her Dad periodically. He would also show them around the Mint. “It was such freedom and great fun”, she says.
However, more recent LDS publications have provided instructions for how to dress the deceased when they have received their temple endowments (and thus wear temple garments) prior to cremation for those wishing to do so, or in countries where the law requires cremation. Except where required by law, the family of the deceased may decide whether the body should be cremated, though the Church "does not normally encourage cremation."[104]
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.
           But that did not defeat her.  In May of 2003, Molly, Meghan and Colter traveled to Cozumel together for a week. She was a nervous traveler, but her kids – who had more experience in this arena than she – were able to calm and reassure her. Once in Mexico, they had a glorious vacation together – enjoying each other even more as they realized how precious and tenuous life can be. The three of them snorkeled in the warm turquoise water, visited  the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza and every night watched the sunset together.
The body is required to be inside a coffin or a combustible container.[44] This allows the body to be quickly and safely slid into the cremator. It also reduces health risks to the operators. The coffin or container is inserted (charged) into the cremator as quickly as possible to avoid heat loss. Some crematoria allow relatives to view the charging. This is sometimes done for religious reasons, such as in traditional Hindu and Jain funerals,[46] and is also customary in Japan.[15]

Beginning in the Middle Ages, and even more so in the 18th century and later, rationalists and classicists began to advocate cremation again as a statement denying the resurrection and/or the afterlife,[86] although the pro-cremation movement more often than not took care to address and refute theological concerns about cremation in their works.[87] Sentiment within the Catholic Church against cremation became hardened in the face of the association of cremation with "professed enemies of God."[87] When some Masonic groups advocated cremation as a means of rejecting Christian belief in the resurrection, the Holy See forbade Catholics to practise cremation in 1886. The 1917 Code of Canon Law incorporated this ban, but in 1963, recognizing that, in general, cremation was being sought for practical purposes and not as a denial of bodily resurrection, the choice of cremation was permitted in many circumstances.[88][89] The current 1983 Code of Canon Law, states: "The Church earnestly recommends the pious custom of burial be retained; but it does not forbid cremation, unless this is chosen for reasons which are contrary to Christian teaching."[90]
We’ll take you through the steps of arranging a funeral — from making the first calls when someone dies to taking care of the financial and administrative matters that have to be handled following the funeral. If a death has already taken place and you have not yet begun to make notifications, visit our First Call page. This page has information that can help you understand what steps you need to take right away.

Is it disrespectful to not go to a funeral?


In 1869, the idea was presented to the Medical International Congress of Florence by Professors Coletti and Castiglioni "in the name of public health and civilization". In 1873, Professor Paolo Gorini of Lodi and Professor Ludovico Brunetti of Padua published reports of practical work they had conducted.[17] A model of Brunetti's cremating apparatus, together with the resulting ashes, was exhibited at the Vienna Exposition in 1873 and attracted great attention[18] Meanwhile, Sir Charles William Siemens had developed his regenerative furnace in the 1850s. His furnace operated at a high temperature by using regenerative preheating of fuel and air for combustion. In regenerative preheating, the exhaust gases from the furnace are pumped into a chamber containing bricks, where heat is transferred from the gases to the bricks. The flow of the furnace is then reversed so that fuel and air pass through the chamber and are heated by the bricks. Through this method, an open-hearth furnace can reach temperatures high enough to melt steel, and this process made cremation an efficient and practical proposal. Charles's nephew, Carl Friedrich von Siemens perfected the use of this furnace for the incineration of organic material at his factory in Dresden. The radical politician, Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, took the corpse of his dead wife there to be cremated in 1874. The efficient and cheap process brought about the quick and complete incineration of the body and was a fundamental technical breakthrough that finally made industrial cremation a practical possibility.[19]


My father recently passed last week and Robin Fisher was excellent through the entire process. She was able to guide me through the process and even arranged a small viewing for my out of town family in a very short notice. My father looked great when they arrived and I can tell he was in good hands. The cremation process was quick and I had my father's remains back home where he belongs. I can't say enough about how great this place is and the people that are there to help me through this very difficult time. Thank you Robin.
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]

What does a dead body smell like?

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