Frequently Asked Questions

It is the customary way to recognize death and its finality. Funerals are recognized rituals for the living to show respect for the dead and to help survivors begin the grief process.

Funeral directors are caregivers and administrators. They make the arrangements for transportation of the body, complete all necessary paperwork, and implement the choices made by the family regarding the funeral and final disposition of the body.

Funeral directors are listeners, advisors and supporters. They have experience assisting the bereaved in coping with death. Funeral directors are trained to answer questions about grief, recognize when a person is having difficulty coping, and recommend sources of professional help. Funeral directors also link survivors with support groups at the funeral home or in the community.

In most states, family members may bury their own dead, although regulations vary. However, most people find it very trying to be solely responsible for arranging the details and legal matters surrounding a death.

Viewing is part of many cultural and ethnic traditions. Many grief specialists believe that viewing aids the grief process by helping the bereaved recognize the reality of death. Viewing is encouraged for children, as long as the process is explained and the activity voluntary.

Embalming sanitizes and preserves the body, retards the decomposition process, and enhances the appearance of a body disfigured by traumatic death or illness. Embalming makes it possible to lengthen the time between death and the final disposition, thus allowing family members time to arrange and participate in the type of service most comforting to them.

No. Most states, however, require embalming when death was caused by a reportable contagious disease or when remains are to be transported from one state to another by common carrier or if final disposition is not to be made within a prescribed number of hours.

While it is true some metropolitan areas have limited available cemetery space, in most areas of the country, there is enough space set aside for the next 50 years without creating new cemeteries. In addition, land available for new cemeteries is more than adequate, especially with the increase in entombment and multi-level grave burial.

No. Usually cremation is one aspect of a funeral service.  For example, it is possible to have a visitation and funeral service with the body present, followed by cremation, followed by burial or scattering of the cremated remains.  Or cremation can take place first, followed by visitation, funeral, and burial or scattering.

According to the National Funeral Directors Assoc. in 2021 the national average cost of funeral services and merchandise provided by the funeral home for a traditional funeral service was $9,420.00. This was an increase of approximately 7.6 percent since 2016.  This includes basic services fee, removal of remains from local place of death, embalming, other preparation of the body, use of facilities and/or staff for viewing, use of facilities and/or staff for funeral ceremony, hearse, service car/van, basic memorial printed package, metal casket (average charge for most frequently purchased), and burial vault (average charge for most frequently purchased).

Additional costs that a family might require, which are not included in the above: limousine for the family, any third party charges such as cemetery expenses, clergy/church honoraria, newspaper notices, flowers, certified death certificates, burial permit, hairdresser.

No.  According to the National Funeral Directors Association, from 2016 to 2021, funeral prices increased by only 7.6%, compared with a 13.98% overall rate of inflation for the same time period.

When compared to other major life cycle events, like births and weddings, funerals are not expensive. A wedding costs at least three times as much; but because it is a happy event, wedding costs are rarely criticized.

A funeral home is a 24-hour, labor-intensive business, with extensive facilities (viewing rooms, chapels, limousines, hearses, etc.); these expenses must be factored into the cost of a funeral. Moreover, the cost of a funeral includes not only merchandise, like caskets, but the services of a funeral director in making arrangements; filing appropriate forms; dealing with doctors, ministers, florists, newspapers and others; and seeing to all the necessary details.

Contrary to popular belief, funeral homes are largely family-owned with a modest profit margin. The average statistics below may be helpful in assessing the true economic picture of a funeral home:

89% Family-owned

Firm in business for 72 years

BEFORE tax profit 11.3%

(Source: National Funeral Directors Association)

Funeral directors are caring individuals who help people deal with a very stressful time. They serve the same families 80% of the time, and many have spent most of their lives in the same community. If they took advantage of bereaved families, they could not stay in business. The fact that the average funeral home has been in business over 59 years shows that most funeral directors respect the wishes of the bereaved families.

Funeral directors look upon their profession as a service, but it is also a business. Like any business, funeral homes must make a profit to exist. As long as the profit is reasonable and the services rendered are necessary, complete, and satisfactory to the family, profit is legitimate.

No. Talking about the mark up on caskets is really not the point. Most items - clothing, furniture, jewelry - are marked up as much or more than caskets. The real question is whether the funeral director is making an excessive profit, and that answer is "No." Profits run around 12.5% before taxes - not excessive by any standard.

Like most Funeral Directors, we are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you request immediate assistance, yes. If the family wishes to spend a short time with the deceased to say good bye, it's acceptable. They will come when your time is right.

Yes, quite often some sort of viewing precedes the actual cremation. Your Funeral Home can assist you with the necessary information for a funeral with a cremation following or a memorial service.

Usually, Funeral Directors will help gather the necessary information to apply for financial assistance from Social Security, Veteran's Affairs, retirements, and any others.