Choosing Between Burials and Cremations

Choosing between burials and cremations services in Crystal Falls, MI is one of the end-of-life decisions that you will need to make before you die. Not only do you need to make sure you've got a powers of attorney for medical and financial oversight in place, as well as a will, before you die, but you also need to make sure those you leave behind know what kind of funeral you want. 

Cremations and burials are the two most common funeral options. Each option offers ways to keep your memory alive and to give your family comfort in the days, weeks, months and years after you're gone. 

Burials usually consist of funeral visitations, funeral services, graveside ceremonies, and burials underground. Visitations are usually held just before funeral services, while gravesite ceremonies are held at the cemetery plot where burials will take place.  

Burials include embalming if there is going to be a viewing (part of the funeral visitation), but embalming is not necessary if a viewing is not included in the visitation (the body is kept at extremely cold temperatures to inhibit deterioration). 

Burials are very traditional in American culture. In many communities where generations of people typically live their entire lives there, family or church cemeteries flourish and burials are expected as a means of final disposition. 

Funeral burials have many advantages. They are typically accepted and preferred by most religions. Additionally, burials in cemeteries give families a physical location to go to after their loved one has died. The addition of a headstone or grave marker provides a tangible and lasting monument to the deceased's memory. 

There are some disadvantages to burials. If you don't already own cemetery plots or have a church or family cemetery (or you are eligible for burial in a national cemetery) where burial plots are free, then a plot must be purchased for burials. Additionally, burials are permanently in one place, so family members who don't live nearby have to travel to visit the grave. If a family moves and wants to move the grave site, doing so is both very complicated and expensive. 

Cremations can be direct (with no funeral service, with the option of a memorial service at a later date), or they can be accompanied by visitations (with or without a viewing) and a funeral service, after which cremation takes place. 

With cremations, there are several options for handling the cremains. The cremains can be buried underground (this is common with spouses who have a spouse already buried), stored in a columbarium (a memorial headstone is placed on the slot where the urn is stored), buried in a cemetery's urn garden (a specific section designed for burying urns with cremains), split up into equal portions for each family member, or put into wearable jewelry so that the person is always with you.   

However, some religions – Islam and Orthodox Judaism, for example – strictly forbid cremations, while most religions now view cremations as acceptable final dispositions of bodies. Cremations currently account for almost half of funerals in the United States. 

If you're interested in discussing burials and cremations services in Crystal Falls, MI, our compassionate and knowledgeable team at Jacobs Funeral Homes & Crematory can guide and advise you. You can visit with us at our funeral home at 909 Crystal Ave., Crystal Falls, MI 49920, or you can call us today at (906) 875-3072.