There are different options in the cremation services offered in Sterling Heights, MI that you may not be aware of. Many people have the idea that cremations don’t come with any options for paying their final respects to their loved ones.

However, there are several options that can be incorporated to funeral planning that includes cremation. Families can choose from these to ensure that the wishes of their deceased loved one are met and that the needs of the family are met as well.

The options for cremation cover a wide array of choices that spans from basic cremation to cremation that includes everything in a traditional funeral except that the body is cremated instead of buried.

As you’re working with your funeral home director to make funeral arrangements, it’s good to know what options can be included with cremation as the final disposition.

The first option with cremation is to have a simple cremation with no services. This option is known as direct cremation. While choosing not to have a viewing, a funeral, or a memorial may seem, to some people, to be a indication that the deceased person wasn’t loved and won’t be missed by their family, this is seldom, if ever, the case.

Some people specify, before they die, that they don’t want any kind of service to remember them or to mourn their death. The family that honors their wishes is to be commended, because undoubtably there are some family members who would like a remembrance of some sort.

In direct cremations, which happen between 24 and 48 hours after a person has died, the body is transported directly from the location of death to the location where the cremation will take place. There is a rigorous process that ensures that the person’s identity is verified and the family gets the right cremation remains after the cremation takes place.

The second option for cremation is to have a memorial service. This can take place before or after the cremation. Memorial services are often a preferred way to remember and pay respects to someone who has died because they can be held anytime (since the deceased doesn’t have to be present), even weeks, months, or years in the future.

Because family members are so scattered and time is needed to make preparations to meet in one place, having a memorial service gives everyone plenty of time to make travel arrangements and to arrange for the personal time off they will need to travel.

A third option for cremations is to have a private viewing before cremation. These viewings are generally only for immediate family and very close friends, so it’s a very small group that gathers to pay their respects to and says goodbye to the deceased.

Having a private viewing for a small, intimate group before cremation is a way to get closure and to be able to openly grieve the loss of a loved one – without the family and friends feeling like they are on display for the whole world to critique their every word and action – before they are cremated.

A final option for cremations is to have a viewing and a funeral service before cremation. This option incorporates all the elements of a traditional funeral, with the only difference being in the final disposition. In most traditional funerals, the last step is underground burial of the body, while in cremations with traditional funeral elements, the last step is cremation of the body.

For more information about cremation services available in Sterling Heights, MI, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lee-Ellena Funeral is here to assist you. You can visit our funeral home at 46530 Romeo Plank Rd., Macomb, MI 48044, or you can call us today at (586) 412-8999.