CREMATION
SPOKANE
A resource for cremation questions and planning.
CremationSpokane.com is here to help you understand your choices regarding cremation and to help you take your first steps to put a plan together for you or your loved ones.
In the past few decades more and more families have decided on cremation.
In fact, families in Washington State and the Northwest lead the nation in this growing trend.
Why is this happening?
For many, it’s the affordability of cremation.
But there is a lot more to it than that.
This website is a starting point to help you understand if cremation is the best choice for you and your family, as well as some helpful tools to discover the advantages and options you have with cremation.
WHY CHOOSE CREMATION?
Determining whether cremation is the best choice for yourself or a loved one is a deeply personal decision. What is best for you and your family will depend on your priorities and values. There are many reasons more people choose cremation today and below are some of the most popular reasons they choose cremation for themselves or their family.
LIFESTYLES
Our lifestyles are significantly different than generations ago, making cremation a much more popular and relevant choice than any time in the past.
AFFORDABILITY
Cremation is known as the most affordable solution and is a good option when cost is an important factor for families.
FLEXIBILITY
Cremation is more than scattering or urns. Cremation offers so many choices for families today. Discover which options are best for you.
ECO-FRIENDLY
Our understanding of our environment and desire to preserve it are one of the many reasons cremation is a preferred choice.
PERSONALIZED
LEGACIES
From cremation gardens, jewelry, and indoor urn displays, cremation allows for an almost limited number of personalized ways to remember a loved one's life.
LIFESTYLES
The world is different than it was a hundred years ago. As our lifestyles have changed, so to have the ways that we honor the memory of beloved family members and friends.
A MOBILE SOCIETY
We are more mobile than ever. Fewer families now stay in the same city, or even state than in previous generations.
The flexibility of cremation provides a level of convenience for distant friends and families to attend memorial services, and for families to maintain an intimate connection to a loved one despite geographic separation.
FLEXIBLE MEMORIALS
Cremation allows for so many more options to memorialize a loved one. While still an appropriate choice, the number of options that go beyond the traditional plot and headstone and allow for more personalization and personally meaningful ways to memorialize a loved ones life, with urns, markers, and more.
VALUES
Traditional beliefs about the body, and its importance related to spiritual matters, have also been changing significantly in the past few decades, which has helped persons of nearly every faith make a choice better suited for the life, and memory.
AFFORDABILITY
Most people know that cremation is the most affordable option.
A basic cremation will commonly start at about $800, although that price may not include a cremation container (which is required).
When the cost of the cremation container is added, along with other administrative fees, the average low price of cremation is typically closer to $900 to $1,100.
These costs may not include the additional cost for a Celebration of Life or Memorial Service, or the. addition cost of an urn or other memorial.
However, a traditional burial will cost more due to the requirements of preparing the body for burial, the services required to prepare the body, the placing of the body and burial container into the chosen interment option, the casket, etc...
The total price for traditional burial is based on the options and services that are chosen, but it is typically significantly more expensive than equivalent services for cremation.
While the desired method is a personal decision for each family, cremation is always going to be the least expensive option.
A SAVINGS TO CELEBRATE
Many families use the money they can save with a cremation for meaningful and important ways to celebrate a loved one's life. For example, the savings can be used to pay for a family celebration with friends and relatives.
For some families, being able to stay intimately connected with a passed loved one is possible by providing keepsake urns for family members.
A family celebration.
Memorialize a Loved One at a Cemetery.
An even more personalized touch would be the creation of customized, cremation jewelry.
Your savings can also be used to ensure a lasting legacy through cemetery memorialization; a cremation marker in a cremation garden, a glass-front indoor niche, a stately outdoor columbarium are just a few of the lasting ways to preserve the memory of a loved one.
Keepsake Urns for
family members.
Cremation Jewelry for a personal touch.
BASIC CREMATION COSTS
How much a cremation costs will be based on your personal decisions and values. But for all cremations, their are some necessary or required services and fees that will be required.
When you meet with a funeral home or cremation provider, its a good idea to know what you are paying for, and what services or items may not be included in their price so that you can avoid any surprises.
The below are examples of the most common costs and should be considered a starting point. Many cremation providers provide affordable packages that include most of these essential services.
TRANSPORTATION
The cost of transporting the body to the funeral home or crematory.
VITAL STATISTICS
The funeral director will work with you on the collection of critical information about the deceased.
PERMITS & FORMS
A funeral directors will ensure that the processing and administration of forms required by state and local government are completed.
FACILITY CARE & REFRIGERATION
Maintaining and preserving the body prior to cremation.
CREMATORY FEE
The actual use of the crematory.
CREMATION CONTAINER
A rigid, combustable container required in the cremation process.
VIEWING
Viewings or visitations are an option to be considered.
DRESSING & CASKETING
If a viewing is chosen, the cremation provider will have the body professionally prepared for this event.
USE OF CHAPEL OR FACILITY
For a service, open house, or gathering, the cost for the use of a facility should be considered.
URN & MEMORIALS
A container to hold the ashes, in addition to any keepsakes, monuments, markers and other memorials should be added to the cost.
FLEXIBILITY
People from all walks of life and every background choose cremation because it provides an incredible array of options to fit their families priorities, lifestyle, budget and personalized ways to honor a loved one's life.
An important benefit with cremation is the ability to schedule memorial services weeks and even months after the death; allowing distant friends and family members time to travel to attend the service.
In addition to allowing for flexibility to plan a memorial, there are far more choices with cremation when it comes to cemetery memorialization.
Do you want to preserve a memory with photos and special mementos?
Preserve their life’s accomplishments?
Showcasing their hobbies, talents, passions, interests and personality?
Would you like to remain close to a loved one through custom jewelry or art?
Cremation makes all of this possible.
The gallery below illustrates just a few of these unique and customizable options.
Gardens designed specifically for scattering and memorial. The ongoing maintenance and landscaping by cemetery staff makes a cremation garden a good choice for those who desire a scattering.
Ground burial is typically considered for traditional body burial, but is a popular option for cremation as well.
Glass front display niches, or cremation niches, are typically located within a building or mausoleum facility located on cemetery grounds. These are the perfect tribute to a loved ones memory.
Columbaria are structures containing spaces ("niches") to hold one or more urns. These outdoor structures are found at most memorial parks and cemeteries.
A cremation bench is a unique way to memorialize a loved one. Situated on cemetery grounds, these granite or marble structures are engraved with a personalized tribute, and some options allow for niches where urns may be placed.
Personalizing and commemoration the life of a loved one to reflect their unique character and accomplishments can be done with almost any style of monument, which are often placed in cremation gardens for ongoing memorialization and care by cemetery staff.
Many families who select scattering also desire to commemorate the life of their loved one through a memorial plate or plaque, such as these examples shown on natural basalt rock columns in a cremation garden.
A popular memorial option for many families are family estates or niches, which allow for multiple generations to be honored forever.
Unique markers that allow for the placement of the urn in a hidden cavity are available for families looking for a memorial that is unique.
ECO FRIENDLY
While cemeteries are excellent stewards of the natural state of the land and inherently offset the harmful effects of carbon emissions and other environmental (and aesthetic) pollutants.
Cremation can provide an even more environmentally friendly option of those that choose so.
While there are an increasing number of “green” alternatives for more traditional casket burials in many cemeteries, cremation is known for its smaller footprint than other methods.
PERSONALIZING A LEGACY
Having a loved one’s remains placed in a decorative urn is a well-known part of the cremation process. Urns are convenient as they are beautiful remembrances of a loved one that stays with family members for years.
And there are an incredible selection of urns available today providing an unprecedented amount of personalization for you or a loved one. This includes themes related to hobbies, personal interests, sports teams, national service, religious faith or beliefs and much more.
Small keepsake urns can be conveniently worn or carried.
But memorialization is not limited to an urn, there are even more creative ways to commemorate a life.
Lifegem diamonds incorporate the cremated essence into diamond, which can then be worn as a touching and intimate personal connection. A similar process is used to create larger, crystal works of art, which are displayed in the home.
PLANNING:
STEPS TO A FINAL ACT OF LOVE
The first step in determining the best choice for you or a loved one is to understand your priorities. Your priorities will be influenced by your values, as well as your budget.
Once you've established what options are best for you and your family, arrange to meet with a pre-planning specialist at a local cremation provider and establish a plan. They will walk through the practical and financial aspects, and answer any questions you may have.
With a plan in place, ensure you let your loved ones know of your decision. Its a good idea to ensure this is well known so that future disagreements are avoided for all involved.
The result of completing the planning process is the realization that you've resolved major questions and decisions for your loved ones, allowing you to know that you have given those closest to you a final act of love and care.
1
DEFINE YOUR VALUES
Establish what’s important to you and your family.
2
ESTABLISH PRIORITIES
Once you've established what's most important, set your priorities.
3
ARRANGE PLAN
Talk to a funeral home or cremation provider about your priorities.
4
INFORM FAMILY
Let loved ones and family know of your decision.
5
RELAX
Congratulations! you’ve taken a huge step to remove stress for you and your loved ones!
TRUSTED SPOKANE PROVIDERS
If you have further questions, need immediate service, or would like to put a plan in place today, please contact our local partners below:
North Division (Spokane):
South Hill (Spokane):
Spokane Valley:
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DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?
We hope that we have been able to answer most of your questions about cremation. However, if you want more information to understand your options and determine if cremation is the best option for you or a loved one, we put together a free 30 page e-book that you can download and read right now. This complimentary guide covers all the major questions, and also explains the many options available for memorialization as well as an explanation of the various terms associated with cremation and memorialization, the cremation process, a thorough FAQ and much more.