The Benefits of Funeral and Cremation Care in Willoughby, OH

When planning an at-need funeral where the wishes of the deceased are not known, it can be difficult to know how they would have wanted their funeral to occur. Would they have preferred a traditional funeral with earth burial? Or perhaps they would have wanted a cremation and memorial service? Or perhaps no memorial service at all, but cremation and a scattering of their ashes in a beautiful place?

Beyond your best guess, you may never know what your lost loved one would have preferred. It may be up to you to do your best. So, what are the benefits of choosing one type of afterlife care service over another? Our qualified funeral directors are well qualified to help you answer this question for your family. You can contact us to discuss this further if you’d like, but for now, here are a few things to consider as you review the options between a traditional funeral and cremation care in Willoughby, OH.

Benefits of Planning and Conducting a Traditional Funeral

This option provides many benefits to those who survive their loved one in death. Traditional funerals and earth burial of the body of your loved one can be a beautiful occasion. It can bring a sense of closure and finality to the living, as well as the comfort of a grave location to visit for years and generations to come. Funerals typically include visitation or viewing hours, a commemorative funeral meeting, and a committal of the body at the graveside.

• Visitation hours: Sometimes called a wake service or a viewing. Friends and family of the fallen can benefit greatly to gather with others who knew the person in life where they are sending flowers. Seeing their mortal remains can help to establish the new reality that their loved one has died. This is an important step in the healing journey. Visitation hours also bring a sense of community and togetherness amid loss and heartache. This helps individuals who loved the deceased to better cope by sharing the loss, knowing they are not alone.
• Funeral Service: A well-planned funeral, conducted with dignity and respect, can do wonders to help a family heal. It can help those who are grieving to find meaning in their shared loss by remembering their fallen loved one, and who they were in life. A funeral can be personalized around the identity, personality, culture, beliefs, and accomplishments of the person. Such funeral meetings are a celebration of a life well lived. 
• Graveside Committal: Families may choose to forego a formal funeral in their preferred venue and hold the service at the graveside. After the services, the casket and body may be lowered into the earth in the presence of family and friends. This too can be a beautiful experience of sorrow and loss, but also of the wonder of life and death itself.
  

Benefits of Choosing Cremation Services

In many ways, cremation is the opposite of a casket burial. Both styles of afterlife care serve the same purpose of caring for the body of your loved one, but they offer different benefits.

• Eco-friendly: Cremation provides a more environmentally friendly means of caring for the body. In time, embalming chemicals, along with casket and funeral goods will return to pollute the soil.
• Cost: Choosing a cremation process is less expensive because of its affordable cremation cost. The needs of the family who remain alive will continue, and finances must be considered. An expensive funeral can place a heavy weight on the shoulders of the living. Financial wisdom is important, even when the occasion wants more.  
• Memorial Service: After cremation, a family can hold a memorial service. It is similar to a funeral in purpose and form, but can be done long after the occasion of a loved one passing. The benefit of time to plan and prepare can be very helpful to friends and family.
• Scattering: If burial in a cemetery is not your idea of a place to rest, your loved one’s cremated remains can be scattered in a serene, meaningful location.

Expert Funeral and Cremation Care in Willoughby, OH