Home | About Us | Location | Services| Products | Pre-Planning | Staff | Contact Us| Links| Obituaries

CREMATION Cremation is an option for body disposition. While earth burial is by far the most common form of disposition in our area of the county, many families are inquiring about cremation. This information is provided to answer some very basic questions about cremation and to discuss some of the options available when cremation is chosen for body disposition. We now have a crematory at our Greenville location. Having this crematory on-site allows us to control all aspects of the cremation process and thus insures that all procedures are handled to your satisfaction. The greatest misunderstanding about cremation is the belief that with cremation, there is no need for services. However, a service, with or without the body present, is an important step in helping the bereaved family overcome their grief and offers family and friends the opportunity to gather together and celebrate the life that has been lived. Services or ceremonies can precede or follow the actual cremation and can be tailored to meet the families desire for any type of service whether it be simple, contemporary, religious or secular. Many families choose to have a visitation time at the funeral home with the body present. Other families may have a visitation, but with the body not present. The family may desire to have a funeral service in a church or our chapel. In this case the body would be present and in a casket or a cremation container. If the family chooses not to have the body present it is called a memorial service. The urn containing the cremated remains could be present or not at the memorial service. North Carolina law requires a waiting period of 24 hours following death before the cremation can take place. A cremation authorization and a body identification form must be signed by the next of kin. The body is delivered to the crematory in a cremation container. This container could be the casket used at the funeral or a rigid, leak resistant, combustible box designed for cremation. The human remains and the cremation container are placed in the cremation chamber where open flames raise the temperature to 1600-2000 degrees Fahrenheit for a period of from 2 to 3 hours. During the process, it may become necessary to open the cremation chamber and reposition the body to facilitate a complete cremation. Afterwards, only bone fragments and any metal remain. The bone fragments are processed to a final granular and powdered form by a mechanical processor. Depending on the skeletal frame, the cremated remains will weigh from 3 to 9 pounds and in most cases will fill a space approximately 6 by 6 by 6 inches. While extreme care is used in removing the cremated remains from the cremation chamber and from the processing equipment, it is virtually impossible to remove all particles. Therefore it is likely that there will be incidental commingling of ashes from cremations that have been done prior and will be additional incidental commingling with ashes from cremations that follow. The selection of the urn is very important since the urn provides both a protective and dignified receptacle for the cremated remains. It can become an important focal point at a memorial service and can serve as a permanent memorial to the deceased. Urns are available in a wide range of prices and in a variety of materials including, bronze, wood, marble, pewter, aluminum and stoneware. Deciding what will be done with the cremated remains may help decide what type of urn to select. The family may decide to bury the urn on a cemetery lot. Some cemeteries allow urns to be buried on the same space as a previously interred casket or other urn. When burial of the urn is the choice many families opt to use a special urn vault to house and protect the urn. The urn may be permanently interred in a mausoleum or columbarium, special above ground structures designed for this purpose. Some families elect to keep the urn within the home. Other options include scattering the cremated remains in a cemetery scattering garden, at sea, or in some other location, so long as it is in accordance with local laws. The decision to scatter should be chosen carefully in that it is irreversible. When scattering or any other form of disposition is chosen, a small portion of the cremated remains may be kept in a smaller keepsake urn created to become a focal point of memorialization in the home. We encourage you to ask any questions before making your final decision. Making an informed choice can help assure peace of mind for all involved.