It is important for a mom to be a good cook and Molly was.  She loved to barbecue and make her kids’ favorites for their birthdays – cheesecake for Megan and chocolate mousse pie for Colter.  From her days as a child in California, Molly carried with her a love of the ocean and many family vacations were spent near a beach so she could share this experience with her children.
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.
Traditionally, Zoroastrianism disavows cremation or burial to preclude pollution of fire or earth. The traditional method of corpse disposal is through ritual exposure in a "Tower of Silence", but both burial and cremation are increasingly popular alternatives. Some contemporary adhererents of the faith have opted for cremation. Parsi-Zoroastrian singer Freddie Mercury of the group Queen was cremated after his death.
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]
Robin Fisher and all the staff at the Oviedo location are consummate professionals who are a credit to their calling. You have taken care of our family for the second time and we cannot press our thanks adequately. Most of my family members are signed up with national Cremation secure in the knowledge that when our time comes they will take care of our families. Mike
Civil suits were filed against the Marsh family as well as a number of funeral homes who shipped bodies to Tri-State; these suits were ultimately settled. The property of the Marsh family has been sold, but collection of the full $80-million judgment remains doubtful. Families have expressed the desire to return the former Tri-State crematory to a natural, parklike setting.[citation needed]
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]

You will likely need a funeral director to help you make arrangements for handling the body, but in many states, this is not required. If you are in an area that permits home funerals and burials, you may be able to handle most of the preparation yourself. See our page on home funerals and burials. As far as arranging the ceremony, you may find that you would like to work with a funeral celebrant. A funeral celebrant is a trained professional whose job is to help you plan the type of ceremony you would like.


We use a variety of flowers in our funeral arrangements, like:●       Daisies●       Lilies●       Orchids●       Roses●       HydrangeasThese are popular funeral flowers because they have symbolic meaning pertaining to loss. However, any arrangement of flowers may be appropriate at a funeral. Although white flowers are most commonly associated with loss, colorful flowers may be helpful in brightening up the atmosphere. Flowers with springtime colors are optimal because spring is often associated with rebirth and hopefulness.

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After the sudden passing of my wife, Caren, I contacted National Cremation. They met me at the hospital and set up an appointment with Mr. Stephen Barreto. He was very professional, knowledgeable, caring and while treating me with the utmost respect, he very patiently explained all my options. Within a very short period, all the arrangements were made and only five days later I received the urn in preparation for a Memorial Service at their location. Although we had a larger than expected turnout, Mr. Barreto went out of his way to accommodate everyone. His assistance and that of the staff was simply outstanding and very much appreciated. Altogether, Mr. Barreto while very compassionate made the whole experience as painless as possible.
In early Roman Britain, cremation was usual but diminished by the 4th century. It then reappeared in the 5th and 6th centuries during the migration era, when sacrificed animals were sometimes included with the human bodies on the pyre, and the deceased were dressed in costume and with ornaments for the burning. That custom was also very widespread among the Germanic peoples of the northern continental lands from which the Anglo-Saxon migrants are supposed to have been derived, during the same period. These ashes were usually thereafter deposited in a vessel of clay or bronze in an "urn cemetery". The custom again died out with the Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxons or Early English during the 7th century, when Christian burial became general.[10]
In 1885, the first official cremation in the United Kingdom took place in Woking. The deceased was Jeanette Pickersgill, a well-known figure in literary and scientific circles.[25] By the end of the year, the Cremation Society of Great Britain had overseen two more cremations, a total of 3 out of 597,357 deaths in the UK that year.[22] In 1888, 28 cremations took place at the venue. In 1891, Woking Crematorium added a chapel, pioneering the concept of a crematorium being a venue for funerals as well as cremation.[21]

In the 20th century, cremation gained varying degrees of acceptance in most Christian denominations. William Temple, the most senior bishop in the Church of England, was cremated after his death in office in 1944. The Roman Catholic Church accepted the practice more slowly. In 1963, at the Second Vatican Council Pope Paul VI lifted the ban on cremation,[38] and in 1966 allowed Catholic priests to officiate at cremation ceremonies. This is done on the condition that the ashes must be buried or interred, not scattered. Many countries where burial is traditional saw cremation rise to become a significant, if not the most common way of disposing of a dead body. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was an unprecedented phase of crematorium construction in the United Kingdom[15] and the Netherlands.[39]


The cost factor tends to make cremation attractive. Generally speaking, cremation is cheaper than a traditional burial service,[72] especially if direct cremation is chosen, in which the body is cremated as soon as legally possible without any sort of services. However, for some even cremation is still relatively expensive, especially as a lot of fuel is required to perform it. Methods to reduce fuel consumption/fuel cost include the use of different fuels (i.e. natural gas or propane, compared to wood) and by using an incinerator (retort) (closed cabin) rather than an open fire.
I knew that making funeral arrangements for my husband would be a very painful task, but Stephan Barreto, at National Cremation in Oviedo, Fl., made the experience pain free. His compassion and understanding are to be commended. From start to finish, he was thorough and never made me feel the pain I felt in my heart. Thank you so much...I am so very grateful.
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.

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.

However, Protestant churches welcomed the use of cremation at a much earlier date than the Catholic Church; pro-cremation sentiment was not unanimous among Protestants, however.[96] The first crematoria in the Protestant countries were built in the 1870s, and in 1908, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey—one of the most famous Anglican churches—required that remains be cremated for burial in the abbey's precincts.[97] Today, "scattering", or "strewing," is an acceptable practice in many Protestant denominations, and some churches have their own "garden of remembrance" on their grounds in which remains can be scattered. Other groups also support cremation. Some denominations, like Lutheran churches in Scandinavia, favour the urns being buried in family graves. A family grave can contain urns of many generations and also the urns of spouses and loved ones.

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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]
Stephen was so caring and sensitive at our meeting with my children and myself planning the funeral of my husband, and our children's dad that we all felt like Stephen also felt the loss and we were all family in planning this difficult Farewell to the Man we Loved So Much. Stephen made the "Funeral Home" feel so loving it was like "home" we could discuss whatever we were thinking and Stephen understood our Broken Hearts. Thank you, Stephen
The ash remaining represents very roughly 3.5% of the body's original mass (2.5% in children). Because the weight of dry bone fragments is so closely connected to skeletal mass, their weight varies greatly from person to person. Because many changes in body composition (such as fat and muscle loss or gain) do not affect the weight of cremated remains, the weight of the remains can be more closely predicted from the person's height and sex (which predicts skeletal weight), than it can be predicted from the person's simple weight.
Suzanne Blanks is a licensed funeral director with a passion for helping people. She grew up in Central Florida and has also lived in London, England, Atlanta, GA and Key West, FL. Before her 10 year career in funeral directing she was a pre-school and elementary teacher. She enjoys art, spending time at the beach, traveling and volunteering at church.

^ Shimizu, Louise Picon; Maruyama, Meredith Enman; Tsurumaki, Nancy Smith (1998). Japan Health Handbook. Kodansha International. p. 335. ISBN 4-7700-2356-1. Not only is cremation of the body and internment [sic] of the ashes in an urn a long-standing Buddhist practice, it is also a highly practical idea today, given the scarcity of burial space in crowded modern Japan.


After my father’s passing from an accidental fall, my sister and I were not only hurting profoundly but were very confused as to what was going to happen in the next few days. The day after his passing we reached out to Ms. Mallory Johnson with the Oviedo, FL branch of National Cremation & Burial Services. After answering a lot of our immediate questions, we scheduled an appointment for the next day. It takes a special person to put you at ease at a moment as difficult as your father’s passing. Mallory did just that. My sister, my cousin and I had the whole process explained in detail and every one of our questions was answered with patience, compassion and a clear understanding of the pain we were going through. We could not have chosen a better person to help us get through what we thought was going to be a horrible process. With Mallory’s help, we understood exactly what was going to happen, who was going to be involved and when it was going to take place. With a job like Mallory’s you have to have a vocation and a deep love for what you do, and she certainly does. I also have to say that I was deeply touched by the fact that every time I called, Miranda at the front desk would greet me by name. That was a special and personal touch that I appreciated very much. You guys did a wonderful, special job that we will always appreciate and remember. You were all there for us when we needed it the most. Thank you so, so much. Scott, Michelle, and Jackie
If a friend or loved one is seriously ill and expected to die in a matter of days or weeks, consider making funeral arrangements in advance. Preparing ahead of time puts you in control and allows you to explore all your options. It will make your meeting with a funeral director more productive and is likely to save you money. Our online planning tools and forms can help you make funeral arrangements in advance. You can also try the Wise Planning System.
Some people turn to cremation over burial or entombment because of the convenience, finding it more practical or cheaper to handle ashes instead of a body. Others might be squeamish about the idea of decay and are attracted to the "sanitizing" effect of flames, while some people find it fitting with their spiritual beliefs. Whatever the reason, more and more people are choosing cremation.
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