The primary reason that we created this Web site was to help people who have questions or want information about funerals and cemeteries. We have created a list of some Frequently Asked Questions for your review.
If you have a question that is not listed, please feel free to contact us. As with all other matters within our organization, your confidentiality will be respected.
Simply click on the question below that interests you and your answer will appear.
What is the purpose of a funeral?
Who regulates funeral homes?
What is the purpose of a cemetery?
Why does our society view the deceased in an open casket?
What is embalming?
Is embalming required?
What is cremation?
Can you have
cremation with an open casket visitation?
Where does the cremation take place?
Isn't direct
cremation easier?
What do you do with
cremated remains?
Are funerals expensive?
Can cremated
remains be scattered?
Do Catholics allow
cremation?
I am a veteran, what am I entitled
to?
How much does the Social
Security Administration pay for funeral expenses?
Is it possible to have a traditional funeral if someone dies of AIDS?
Q) What is the purpose of a funeral?
A) The funeral fills important
needs in our society. It provides for the dignified and respectful care of
the deceased. It is a special tribute to a unique life. The funeral service
helps the survivors face the reality of deaththe first step in overcoming
grief. It affords those friends and relatives an opportunity to express the
love and respect they feel for someone who was important to them. Seeing how
much someone cares can be a tremendous psychological help to a bereaved family
adjusting to their loss.
Q) Who regulates funeral homes?
A) Although laws vary from state
to state, the Federal
Trade Commission is currently one of the regulating agencies overseeing
funeral homes. Funeral homes are required to itemize their funeral service
charges and you, as the consumer, then have the ability to tailor-make your
funeral arrangements. We encourage families to gather as much information
as possible. An informed consumer is a wise consumer. In the State of
Ohio, funeral homes, services, chapels and crematories are overseen by the
State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers.
Q) What is the purpose of a cemetery?
A) Lives are commemorated, deaths
are recorded, families are united, memories are made tangible and love is
eternal . . . this is the purpose of a cemetery. A cemetery is a history of
people and the community they lived in. A cemetery is a perpetual record of
yesterday and a sanctuary of peace and quiet today.
Q) Why does our society view the
deceased in an open casket?
A) Viewing is part of many cultural
and ethnic traditions. Many grief specialists affirm that viewing the body
aids tremendously in the grief process by helping the survivors recognize
the reality of the death. This is the first step in the healing process.
Q) What is embalming?
A) Embalming is the surgical
process of replacing body fluids with formaldehyde-based fluids. It provides
for the dignified disinfect ion, restoration and preservation of the body.
Embalming allows for higher public health standards. It also allows the survivors
an opportunity to view their loved one so that they may face the reality of
the death and begin the healing process.
Q) Is embalming required?
A) Embalming is not required
by law. Embalming may be required if you select funeral arrangements with
open casket visitation. Embalming is not required if you select a cremation
service without a casket visitation.
Q) What is cremation?
A) Cremation is simply a form
of disposition. The crematable casket is placed in a cremation chamber where,
through a process of heat and evaporation, the body is reduced to its original
elements--bone fragments, not ashes.
Q) Can you have cremation with an
open casket visitation?
A) Yes, most families select
an appropriate funeral service to take place before the cremation or after.
You may still have a traditional funeral with visitation, with the cremation
disposition taking place after the service. The psychological benefits of
viewing our loved ones and having the opportunity to say good-bye are well
documented and are available with cremation.
Q) Where does the cremation take
place?
A) Families who select Shaw-Davis
are comforted in knowing that their Cremation Services will be handled by
licensed funeral directors at our crematory. We invite your inspection.
Cremation is a dignified mode of disposition handle by certified crematory
operators, governed by the State of Ohio Board of Funeral Directors &
Embalmers.
Q) Isn't direct cremation easier?
A) Direct cremation usually means
cremation with no visitation or services. Some people choose direct cremation
believing that the quickest, simplest option is best. However, all cultures
recognize the need to come together to share and grieve at the time of death.
Most people require something more than only to dispose of their loved one.
Grief shared is grief diminished.
Q) What do you do with cremated
remains?
A) Most families select a form
of memorialization with their cemetery of choice. We view the inurnment as
the dignified act of memorializing cremated remains within a place of permanent
rest. Families may select traditional burial space; a niche in a chapel or
mausoleum. Some cemeteries even offer an area where cremated remains may be
scattered.
Q) Are funerals expensive?
A) When compared to other major
life cycle events, like births and weddings, funerals are not expensive. A
wedding can cost 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 that cost money to maintain. When determining
if a funeral home is expensive or not, compare prices with other funeral homes.
All funeral homes are required to give you, for retention, a General Price
List. Also ask whether the value of the products and services received are
in line with the prices paid. The cost of a funeral is always a matter of
personal choice.
Q) Can cremated remains be scattered?
A) A family may, if they wish,
scatter the cremated remains of their loved one on privately-owned property
with the consent of the property owner. Always be sure to check your local,
state and federal laws concerning scattering of cremains. Scattering, however,
is neither practical nor considerate of all concerned. It may be very traumatic
for family members to scatter fragmented, yet recognizable bone fragments
of their loved one. In addition, later generations of the family may not have
a place to go to pay tribute, if that private property has been sold or developed
into something else. Only a cemetery provides for the dignified, permanent
record and memorialization of cremated remains.
Q) Do Catholics allow cremation?
A)The Vatican now permits in
the U.S. funeral Masses with cremated remains present. It will be the decision
of each bishop to determine if this is pastorally appropriate in his diocese.
The introductory material from the Vatican reiterated that the church prefers
"that the body of the deceased be present for the funeral rites"
and stresses that cremated remains be treated with respect and should be buried
in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. Scattering at sea, from
the air or ground, or kept at home are not reverent disposition.
President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Anthony M.
Pilla of Cleveland, decreed that Masses with cremated remains present can
be performed.
When cremated remains are present, they must be contained in a "worthy
vessel" placed on a table or in the place normally occupied by the casket,
and must be covered with a pall. The Easter Candle may be present. The urn
may be carried to its place in the entrance procession or placed on a table
before service begins. The words in the blessing and the dismissal will be
changed for cremation. The prayer of committal will read "earthly remains"
in place of "body." This new Vatican decision does not effect "Eastern"
churches.
Q) I am a veteran, what am I entitled
to?
A) The Veterans Administration
(VA) will pay a burial allowance up to $1500 if the veteran's death is service-connected.
All veterans must be honorably discharged to receive any benefits. VA will
also pay the cost of transporting the remains of a service-disabled veteran
to the national cemetery nearest the home of the deceased that has available
grave sites. VA will pay a $300 burial and funeral expense allowance for veterans
who, at the time of their death, were entitled to receive pension or compensation.
Eligibility also is established when death occurs in a VA facility or a nursing
home with which VA is contracted. Additional costs of transportation of the
remains may be reimbursed. VA will pay a $150 plot allowance when a veteran
is not buried in a cemetery that is under U.S. government jurisdiction if
the veteran has a service-related disability, was receiving compensation or
pension or if the veteran died while hospitalized by VA. The plot allowance
is not payable solely on wartime service. All honorably discharged veteran
are entitled to an American flag and a grave marker. The grave marker does
not include installation, foundation and perpetual care charges that a cemetery
may charge.
Q) How much does the Social Security
Administration pay for funeral expenses?
A) Social Security has cut back
the benefits payable for funeral expenses. Social Security will pay a lump
sum death benefit of $255 to a surviving spouse or dependent children only.
No benefit is paid to survivors upon the second spouse's death.
Q) Is it possible to have a traditional funeral if someone dies of AIDS?
A) Yes, A person who dies of an AIDS-related illness is entitled to the same service options afforded to anyone else. If public viewing is consistent with local or personal customs, that option is encouraged. Touching the deceased's face or hands is perfectly safe.
Because the grief experienced by survivors may include a variety of feelings, survivors may need even more support than survivors of non-AIDS-related deaths.