Cremation Information

Our Affordable Cremation Services

What is Cremation?

Part of making funeral arrangements on behalf of a loved one involves choosing between burial of the body, or cremation. Certainly this is a big decision, based on any number of factors: religious or spiritual beliefs, finances, or ecological awareness are just some of the reasons we've heard for choosing cremation. Before you can make the choice, you need to know exactly what it is you're considering. You can learn the basics below, however, if the content here raises additional questions for you, please visit our contact page or simply give us a call us. One of our cremation specialists will address any of your inquiries or concerns.

Why Choose Cremation?

Given the religious, ethnic, and regional diversity among us, there are many other reasons for the dramatic rise in the number of cremations performed each year. According to Tyler Mathisen of NBC, one of those reasons "is the softening of the Catholic church's views of the practice. For centuries – until 1963, in fact – the church outlawed it. The church's laws still express a preference for burial. But the outright ban is a thing of the past."

He goes on to tell readers that the decline in nuclear families is another reason. "As more Americans live far from hometowns and parents, and as family burial plots have waned in popularity and accessibility, millions have turned to cremation as a practical and cost-effective way to care for a loved one's remains."

Cremation also allows a family the flexibility they may need in planning and preparing for a memorial service, celebration-of-life, or a scattering ceremony. While the cremation service can occur almost immediately (once all the proper paperwork is complete), the decisions required in planning a meaningful memorial for a loved one can be made in a relaxed, rational way.

You can also be sure that concern for the environment ranks high among many who choose cremation. Casketed and embalmed remains take up cemetery space and can pollute the groundwater but many still question the amount of atmospheric pollution created by the cremation process.

A Short History of Cremation

All across the world, cremation has been a common way to handle a corpse for many centuries. Cremation started as far back as 20,000 years ago. There is evidence of cremation beginning in Europe roughly around 2,000 B.C. and many scholars believe the practice became quite popular around this time for Europeans.

Over time, the popularity of cremation began to wane. By the Middle Ages, cremation became a form of punishment and was not viewed as a compassionate way to care for the deceased. However, at the Vienna Exhibition of 1873, Professor Ludovico Brunetti revealed a furnace that he had invented specifically for cremation. Displayed with the furnace were about four pounds of cremated remains. Cremation reclaimed popularity by the late 1800’s and the first official crematory in the United States was constructed in 1876 in Washington, PA by Dr. Julius LeMoyne.

What Does Cremation Involve?

People often have many misconceptions about how cremation actually works. Many people think cremation is done by simply lighting the body on fire and burning it. However, the cremation process is completed with a lot more care and is much more technical in nature.

Cremation is the process of reducing a body to ash by exposing it to very high temperatures. First, the family or next of kin must authorize the body to be cremated. The crematorium operator prepares the body and removes any jewelry, medical devices (i.e. pacemakers), prostheses, and implants. The corpse is placed in a container made of wood or heavy cardboard. The container is then placed into the crematory chamber which is essentially a large furnace. The heat ignites the container and the body begins to dry out. The temperature in the chamber can rise to about 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. It usually takes 2 to 3 hours to fully cremate a body. What’s left is a grey coarse material that feels like a fine gravel. On average, 3 to 9 pounds of ash is produced (Kim, 2018).

Our 5-Step Cremation Service Process

1) Start Planning Online or Give Us a Call

You can start planning your cremation service with our by using our online pre-arrangement tool.

2) Making the Cremation Agreement Official

When you are ready to finalize the cremation plan, we will put your wishes on record and keep it in our database until death occurs.

3) Removal from the Place of Death

Upon death, we will remove the body from the place of death. After all paperwork has been completed and the medical examiner has given approval, the body is transported to the crematory.

4) Funeral Ceremony

If you have chosen to have some type of ceremony before the cremation takes place, we will begin and execute those plans accordingly.

5) Cremation

We transfer the body to the crematorium, and the operators take care of the cremation process. The body is placed in the cremation chambers and the process usually takes 2-3 hours.

Learn How to Plan a Cremation Service

What is Required to Arrange a Cremation Service?

Once the cremation-over-burial decision has been made, all that's required is authorization. This is provided by the person who is the legally identified or appointed next-of-kin. Once all authorization documents are signed; the body can be transported from the place of death to the crematory and the cremation process can take place. However, there are some additional things you may wish to consider, such as:

Is there a special set of clothes (such as a military uniform or favourite dress) your loved one would appreciate the thought of wearing? This will be a focus of the cremation arrangement conversation, and you will be advised by your funeral director as to your best options regarding jewelry or other valuable personal items.
Are there any keepsake items you'd like to include in their cremation casket? Perhaps there's a special memento, such as a treasured photograph or letter? We sometimes suggest family members write cards, notes or letters to their deceased loved one, and place them in the casket prior to the cremation.
Would you or other family members like to be present for–or participate to some degree in–your loved one's cremation? Because we know how healing it can be to take part in an act of "letting go", we welcome the opportunity to bring interested family or friends into the crematory. Please discuss your desire to participate with your funeral director.
What will you keep the cremated remains or ashes in after the cremation or the service? Many families are simply unaware that they can purchase a cremation urn to be placed in a special place such as the family home. We offer a large selection of urns that will help memorialize your loved one. Ask one of our caring funeral director's to see the wide variety of urns.

Browse Our Cremation FAQ

Why do People Choose to be Cremated?

It has always been an on-going debate: cremation vs. burial. Lately, cremation has been winning the battle as the more popular choice. The American cremation rate has been steadily on the rise for the past 30 years. The year of 2015 marked the first time the cremation rate was higher than the burial rate in the United States.

So, why cremation? Everyone has their own personal reasons for choosing cremation, but we have noticed 6 key benefits of cremation:

Cost
On average, cremation is generally 45-50% cheaper than burial. Cremation allows you to avoid the big purchases of items like a headstone and a casket.

Environmental Concerns
Cremation is considered to be more environmentally friendly than burial. Often the deceased is embalmed using harsh chemicals for a wake before he/she is buried. People have been critical that these chemicals can seep through a casket and create water and soil pollution. Secondly, burial plots take up land space and disturb the Earth to enter a casket. Crematories do release carbon emissions into the air, but new technology is really starting to reduce the amount and impact.

Simplicity
Oftentimes, when people choose a traditional funeral they choose to have their loved one buried as well. In contrast, cremation is more associated with memorial services and celebrations of life. A traditional funeral involves many more components such as a wake, gathering pallbearers, organizing a mass with a church, coordinating the burial with the cemetery, and much more. Memorial services and celebrations of life can be much simpler if you choose them to be. Since these ceremonies are more based on what you want and are less about common rituals, you can choose just how complicated and sophisticated the ceremonies are.

Cemetery Availability
Plots at cemeteries are becoming more and more scarce. The cemetery you wish to be buried may not have plots available when you pass. Also since the supply of burial plots shrinks the cost of them has been on the rise. Cremation allows you to avoid the trouble of finding a plot.

Flexibility
With burial, you are either interred underground in a plot or above ground in a mausoleum. With cremation, you have several options in terms of what you can do with your loved one’s ashes. You can scatter your loved one’s ashes, store them in an urn, hold a small portion of them in memorial jewelry, blast them as a part of fireworks, mix them into the ink of a tattoo, and do many other creative things with ashes.

Religions Are Becoming Less Strict
Many people are starting to move away from tradition due to religions having a more relaxed stance on cremation. Catholics believe that the soul is immortal and does not depend on the physical body. Since cremation of the deceased's remains does not affect his or her soul, according to the Church, there are no doctrinal objections to the practice (Bryner, 2016). The less strict beliefs of the Catholic church are becoming another reason that people are choosing cremation rather than burial.

Cremation Costs Are Only One Reason

The cost of cremation is typically one-third of the cost of a traditional burial. While it's true that cost is a significant factor for many families, it's important to remember that cremation is only one part of providing meaningful end-of-life care for a loved one.

Given the religious, ethnic, and regional diversity among us, there are many other reasons for the dramatic rise in the number of cremations performed each year. According to Tyler Mathisen of NBC, one of those reasons "is the softening of the Catholic church's views of the practice. For centuries—until 1963, in fact—the church outlawed it. The church's laws still express a preference for burial. But the outright ban is a thing of the past."

He tells readers that the decline in nuclear families is another reason. "As more Americans live far from hometowns and parents, and as family burial plots have waned in popularity and accessibility, millions have turned to cremation as a practical and cost-effective way to care for a loved one's remains."

Cremation also allows a family the flexibility they may need in planning and preparing for a memorial service, celebration of life, or a scattering ceremony. While the cremation process can occur almost immediately (once all the proper paperwork is complete), the decisions required in planning a meaningful memorial for a loved one can be made in a relaxed, rational way.

You can also be sure that concern for the environment ranks high among many who choose cremation. Casketed and embalmed remains take up cemetery space and can pollute the ground water, but many still question the amount of atmospheric pollution created by the cremation process.

Learn More About Our Cremation Options

Your Trusted Cremation Services Provider in Scottsbluff, NE

We've had years of experience serving many families, so we understand and respect your decisions. Not only that, we will take all the time you may need to make an informed decision. Call us today or email us through the contact us form.

We encourage you to contact us to discuss the cremation services we offer and to explore our cremation prices. We are here to help you make an informed decision. Call to ask any questions.