Cremation Information
What is Cremation?
Part of making funeral arrangements on behalf of a loved one involves choosing between burial of the body, or cremation. Certainly this is a big decision, based on any number of factors: religious or spiritual beliefs, finances, or ecological awareness are just some of the reasons we've heard for choosing cremation. Before you can make the choice, you need to know exactly what it is you're considering. You can learn the basics below, however, if the content here raises additional questions for you, please give us a call. One of our cremation specialists will address any of your inquiries or concerns.
The Cremation Process
Traditional cremation is the process of reducing a body at very high temperatures until it is nothing but brittle, calcified bones. These are then processed into what we commonly call ashes. Returned to the family in a temporary urn (or a more personal urn selected by the family), these ashes can be kept, buried, or scattered. Some families even choose to place a loved one's cremated remains in a hand-crafted piece of cremation art.
Author Michelle Kim, in How Cremation Works, details the cremation process: "In modern crematories, the body is stored in a cool, temperature-controlled room until it's approved for cremation. The body is prepared by removing pacemakers, prostheses and silicone implants. The body is then put into a container or casket made out of flammable materials such as plywood, pine or cardboard."
The container is placed in the retort or cremating chamber. It takes anywhere from two to three hours to reduce an average adult to ash. When the cremated remains are cooled, they are processed to a uniformly-sized pebble-like substance and placed in an urn. The funeral director then returns the cremated remains to the family.
Cremation Explained
The Cremation Association of North America describes cremation as, "The mechanical and/or thermal or other dissolution process that reduces human remains to bone fragments". On our page, The Cremation Process, we offer a deeper look at the most common cremation process which uses extreme heat.
What are the Benefits of Cremation?
Environmentally Friendly
With global warming becoming more prevalent, people are starting to become more environmentally conscious than in years past. With a traditional burial service, many cemeteries require the deceased to be buried inside a casket and vault. Not only does this take up space, the carbon footprint to manufacture these items is substantial. If the family chooses to have a funeral, the chemicals used to embalm the body also have environmental impacts.
Keep in mind, cremation is not without its faults. It may not have the same environmental impact, but it does require burning fossil fuels to operate the crematory. For many families, the difference may be minimal but cremation still has less environmental impact.
A Lower Cost
When it comes to honoring a loved one, money should never be a deciding factor. That’s not to say you shouldn’t stick to a budget. For many, the lower cost of a cremation service is appealing to families because they can do more to honor a loved one with the money they save.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the average cost of a funeral service with a casketed burial is $7181. Comparatively, the average cost of cremation with a viewing and funeral is $6078. If the family elects to forego the funeral and viewing, the price is even lower.
In the case of many families, the lower cost is appealing. In most cases, the families will use these savings to plan a more detailed celebration of life or memorial service. No matter how you choose to honor a loved one, planning a cremation service can let you redirect other parts of your budget to how you plan to pay tribute to your loved one. Our staff can discuss this further with you and outline our different memorial service options.
Time to Grieve and Plan
Whenever a loved one passes away, we want to honor their legacy and say goodbye. With a burial service, we are often pressed for time as we need to plan and execute a funeral in a limited window of time.
However, when choosing cremation, there is no timeframe to plan a memorial service or celebration of life. You can take your time planning a truly meaningful and honorable rememberance service.
If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of cremation, feel free to contact us. In the meantime, here are several popular reasons to consider choosing cremation.
Reasons to Choose Cremation
- More environmentally friendly.
- Ability to relocate and bring the remains with you.
- Flexibility.
- More time to mourn and grieve alongside loved ones.
- Accepted practice by many religions.
Are You Ready to Talk About Cremation?
We want you to know that no matter your reasons for choosing cremation, we're here to help you explore your options. When you're ready, call us to set an appointment or simply drop by our office. You can also send us an email via our Get in Touch form below.
Get in Touch
Schildknecht Funeral Home & Cremation Services
301 S. Lincoln Avenue
O'Fallon, IL 62269
PHONE: (618) 632-3713
