All Topics  
Funeral home

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Funeral home
 
 
  Topics Funeral home Topic Home

A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral
Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
 services for the deceased and their families. These services may include a prepared wake
Wake (ceremony)

A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home....
 and funeral, and the provision of a chapel
Chapel

A chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large Church , a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds....
 for the funeral.

ral homes arrange services in accordance with the wishes of families and the deceased. The funeral home often takes care of the necessary paperwork, permits, and other details, such as making arrangements with the cemetery
Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which death body and cremation are burial. The term cemetery implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground....
, and providing obituaries
Obituary

An obituary is an attempt to give an account of the texture and significance of the life of someone who has recently died. It is to be distinguished from a death notice , which is a paid advertisement written by family members and placed in the newspaper either by the family or the funeral home....
 to the news media.

There are a few common types of services in the United States of America. A traditional funeral service consists of a viewing (sometimes referred to as a wake), a funeral service at the church of the deceased (or at the mortuary chapel), and a graveside committal service. Direct cremation consists of the mortuary receiving the remains of the deceased, filing the necessary paperwork (according to state laws), and completing the cremation process. Direct/immediate Burial is when the family of the deceased forgoes a funeral ceremony and solely wishes their loved one to be buried in a timely manner. Forwarding or receiving of remains to or from another mortuary consists of preparing the body for shipment in a casket strapped into an airtray or a combination unit.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Funeral home'
Start a new discussion about 'Funeral home'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral
Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
 services for the deceased and their families. These services may include a prepared wake
Wake (ceremony)

A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home....
 and funeral, and the provision of a chapel
Chapel

A chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large Church , a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds....
 for the funeral.

Services

Funeral homes arrange services in accordance with the wishes of families and the deceased. The funeral home often takes care of the necessary paperwork, permits, and other details, such as making arrangements with the cemetery
Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which death body and cremation are burial. The term cemetery implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground....
, and providing obituaries
Obituary

An obituary is an attempt to give an account of the texture and significance of the life of someone who has recently died. It is to be distinguished from a death notice , which is a paid advertisement written by family members and placed in the newspaper either by the family or the funeral home....
 to the news media.

There are a few common types of services in the United States of America. A traditional funeral service consists of a viewing (sometimes referred to as a wake), a funeral service at the church of the deceased (or at the mortuary chapel), and a graveside committal service. Direct cremation consists of the mortuary receiving the remains of the deceased, filing the necessary paperwork (according to state laws), and completing the cremation process. Direct/immediate Burial is when the family of the deceased forgoes a funeral ceremony and solely wishes their loved one to be buried in a timely manner. Forwarding or receiving of remains to or from another mortuary consists of preparing the body for shipment in a casket strapped into an airtray or a combination unit. This is used when the cemetery in which the deceased is to be buried lies in another state or country.

When the deceased are brought to the funeral home, they are sometimes embalmed
Embalming

File:Embalming fluid.jpgEmbalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for display at a funeral....
 to delay decomposition. The typical embalming procedure involves replacement of the blood of the decedent with a mixture of preservative chemicals and dyes, aspiration of the internal organs, and the setting of the person's features. The use of makeup to make a person look more lifelike is often employed. If the deceased was disfigured from an accident or illness, the embalmer can sometimes utilize restorative techniques to make the corpse presentable for an open casket service. If the embalmer is unable to do so, or if the family requests otherwise, the funeral home can perform a closed casket service.

The funeral home often sets aside one or more large areas for families to gather at a visitation. This area may contain a space to display the deceased in their casket for visitors to pay their respects. Funeral services and memorial services may also take place at the funeral home. Many funeral homes also offer prearrangement services for those who wish to prepare their own funeral services before death.

Because of the increasing popularity of cremation
Cremation

Cremation is the process of reducing human remains to basic Chemical element in the form of bone fragments through flame, heat, and vaporization....
, there are more funeral homes with crematoriums. Funeral homes without facilities on-site often contract the work out to other firms.

Some funeral homes are family owned and operated. Others are part of larger corporations; however, unlike those in other industries, these corporations often act anonymously to appear as if they are family owned. One of the largest corporations in the United States is Service Corporation International
Service Corporation International

For other uses of the acronym SCI, see SCIService Corporation International is North America largest provider of end-of-life arrangements and services....
; in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 the largest owner of funeral homes is Co-operative Funeralcare, part of the Co-operative Group. Unlike similar-sized rivals the company operates under one name and logo and makes no attempt to appear as small 'family' concerns.

Funeral homes in popular culture

  • The television series Six Feet Under portrayed a fictional funeral home.
  • The television series Family Plots
    Family Plots

    Family Plots was a reality television show that followed the ongoing events and the eccentric employees that work at the family-run Poway Bernardo Mortuary in Poway, California....
     showed the operations of an actual Californian funeral home. The show lasted for two seasons before it was canceled.
  • In the movie My Girl
    My Girl (film)

    My Girl is a 1991 in film coming-of-age dramatic comedy starring Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky in her feature film debut....
     Harry Sultenfuss (Dan Aykroyd) ran a mortuary from his home.
  • In the Lifetime
    Lifetime

    selfref|For Wikipedia's Lifetime template, see Wikipedia:...
     TV movie Wisegal
    Wisegal

    Wisegal is a Lifetime Television crime drama film starring Alyssa Milano and directed by Jerry Ciccoritti. The movie premiered on March 15, 2008....
    , Frank Russo, the Mafia captain, owns a Funeral Home as a front.
  • In the 1980s British
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
     television sitcom In Loving Memory
    In Loving Memory (TV series)

    In Loving Memory was a United Kingdom period piece British sitcom set in an Funeral director that starred Thora Hird and Christopher Beeny. A pilot aired in 1969, and it further ran for five series between 1979 and 1986....
    , set in a 1930s funeral parlour in Yorkshire
    Yorkshire

    Yorkshire is a Historic counties of England of northern England and the largest in Great Britain. Because of its great size, over time functions were increasingly undertaken by its subdivisions, which have been subject to History of local government in Yorkshire....
    .
  • In the 2002 British comedy movie Undertaking Betty, Christopher Walken starred as a small town funeral home director in competition with another local funeral home for the town's business.


See also

  • Death industry
    Death industry

    The death industry refers to companies and organizations that receive money in exchange for services for the dead. This includes for example funeral homes, post-mortem fees, and headstone creation....
  • Funeral Consumers Alliance
    Funeral Consumers Alliance

    Funeral Consumers Alliance is a nonprofit federation of organizations in the United States and Canada "dedicated to protectinga consumer's right to choose a meaningful, dignified, affordable funeral." Based in South Burlington, Vermont, it was founded in 1963....