There are two main disposition methods you can use after a loved one passes away and most funeral homes in Northern Cambria, PA are able to help you with either. You can move forward with a traditional burial or you can go with cremation services. While both are completely honorable, you may lean toward cremation because of costs, versatility, or for a number of other reasons. Once the cremation is complete, other questions might come up. Here are a few you might notice drifting through your mind.

How Can I Honor My Loved One?

The cremation process itself is completely dignified, but some people feel it’s impersonal because it’s the same for everyone. While the process doesn’t change from person to person, the services you have around the cremation can be completely unique. You can have a memorial service, celebration of life, or ash scattering of any kind and invite whoever you think would want to honor your loved one along with you. You can erect a permanent memorial in their name, donate to a charity they supported, and do any number of other things to honor them. How you honor their memory is up to you, but you should definitely do something to feel as if their death is being marked in some way or another.

How Can I Get Closure?

There are many people who appreciate traditional burial ceremonies because the visitation, funeral, and subsequent burial makes them realize that the person they loved really is gone. They get closure in an expected manner. With cremation, that method might feel different and closure a bit harder to grasp. There’s no visitation with direct cremation and no burial service, either. Closure, instead, can come in other ways. Sometimes, the family is able to watch the cremation take place, which can give them the final goodbye and closure they need. Other times, they might do an ash scattering with close family to get the closure into place.

What Should I Do With The Ashes?

If you know your loved one wanted direct cremation, or you decided upon it on their behalf, once the cremation is complete, you then have to think about what they might want you to do with their ashes. There are lots of options and you might want to talk to your family to see what they feel is the right avenue to take. You don’t even have to decide right away, if you don’t want. You can keep the ashes forever or until you figure out what you want to do.

If you are ready to talk about cremation or even traditional services with funeral homes in Northern Cambria, PA, the professionals at Simple Alternatives Funeral Home & Crematory in Windber PA are here to help. If you have questions after the processes are over, we’re still here for you. Call us at (814) 533-5832 and we’ll answer whatever questions you have and help you get to conclusions of your own. You can also visit us at 717 Main St Windber, PA 15963.