Selecting Services and Merchandise

The large selection of casket designs and quick access contributes to the choices you have to personalize your arrangements.

A wide variety of urns are available for burial, scattering, and display.

Our state-of-the-art selection room makes selecting merchandise easier, less intimidating, and less stressful than the traditional selection room. Or, families may choose to make their selections by viewing merchandise on a computer screen either at our location or in their home.

Your funeral director will give you a general price list that includes a fee all consumers pay for the basic services of the funeral directors and staff and itemized prices for additional services and merchandise.

The basic services fee covers the overhead costs of running the funeral home, such as personnel, benefits and other routine business expenses. It also covers basic services of staff, such as responding to the initial request for service, the arrangement conference and the coordination of activities with the cemetery and other service providers.

Itemized services and merchandise your funeral director offers will likely include embalming, other preparation of the body such as hairdressing, transfer of remains, caskets, urns and garments. Costs such as cemetery and crematory charges, newspaper notices, grave markers and honoraria may or may not be provided by the funeral home.

No matter how the body is committed, most families choose some form of marker or monument to memorialize the deceased. Markers vary from large granite or marble memorials to small bronze plaques placed over a grave. Many families who choose cremation and scatter the remains purchase space in a cemetery for an inscribed memorial plaque.

If you are in need of services or merchandise not included on the list, do not hesitate to ask. Funeral directors routinely find ways to meet the unique needs of each family they serve and cannot possibly include all services provided on a single price list.

The total cost of a funeral varies considerably, depending on geographic location, size of the funeral home, services provided and arrangements selected. It is the responsibility of your funeral director to review with you the cost of all services and merchandise selected, even though it may be a difficult time for you to do so.

The value of services offered and received is as important as the price paid. Carefully examine the quality of what is offered in terms of personal services, facilities and merchandise so you will be absolutely certain your wants and needs are met in a manner you expect.