Funeral and Memorial Service Planning for Cemeteries in Loretto, TN

Regardless of whether your family needs to plan a funeral or memorial for a death that has just happened, or you are preplanning well in advance, we can help. Here are some things to think about for both pre-need and at-need funeral and memorial planning:

Planning a Commemorative Service

In both prearrangement planning and planning at the time of need, the experience is highly personal. The decisions you make will have a lasting impact on those who attend the memorial experience, whether for yourself or a loved one. The planning process is informed by your life story and experiences, your relationship with your deceased loved one, their wishes, the needs of the family, as well as other influential factors.

The primary purposes which funeral and memorial planning addresses include:

• Care and disposition of the deceased’s body
• Commemorative services to honor the life and memory of the deceased

With these purposes in mind, it’s important to recognize there is no wrong way to plan and carry out a service. The goal is to meet the needs of survivors by providing comfort and closure in their loss, while respectfully laying your loved one to rest.

Casket Burial or Cremation

Deciding on the final disposition of the body can be helpful to the overall planning effort. There are variations of the theme about how to best disposition the remains of the fallen, but they generally fall into two categories: Burial and Cremation. Choose the one that’s best for you. 

• Traditional Burial – This option includes options above and below ground. Above-ground burial may occur in a mausoleum or entombment in a sepulcher. Below ground occurs in a funeral plot or grave space. Both options require the purchase of a casket, a burial site, vault or liner, a memorial marker, gravestone, or plaque.
• Natural Burial – Sometimes called a green burial, more and more cemeteries are offering gravesites where people can be buried in a manner that minimizes the environmental impact of burial.
• Cremation: The deceased is reduced to ashes using intense heat and flame. The residual ashes are processed for uniformity and can be scattered, inurned, and kept at home, buried in an urn garden, placed into a columbarium niche, etc. There are many options for disposition of the deceased’s ashes. 
• Flameless Cremation: This is a relatively new option and not yet widely available. Formally called alkaline hydrolysis, this disposition style reduces the body to a benign liquid and fragmented skeletal remains using pressure and low heat application. The remains are then rinsed and processed. The carbon footprint is as much as four times less than a standard cremation, making it very environmentally gentle.

If you have additional questions about disposition services for cemeteries in Loretto, TN, call our service staff here at Giles Memory Gardens to discuss the options.

Services Preparation

Over recent decades, funerals and memorials have become more and more personalized to account for the unique life that is being commemorated. Personalization is important to a funeral and memorial service because it helps survivors to remember and internalize the relationship they shared with their deceased loved one in life. 

Many families look to their faith traditions, family customs, and cultural norms to guide their planning efforts. They may choose to hold services in a funeral chapel, a house of worship, a civic center, or even an outdoor location. Services can be led by a spiritual leader, a life celebrant, a funeral director, a family member, or a family friend. 

Be thoughtful in deciding what should occur at the service. Should there be any readings or prayers? Who should share them? Is a eulogy wanted? What kind of music should be included, if any? Are food and refreshment appropriate? What amenities do you need, such as video or audio recording of services, broadcasting, memorabilia display, etc.? 

The important thing is to remember that services should reflect the wishes of the family and the deceased, creating an atmosphere of comfort and support. Ideally, it will be an occasion that promotes the closing of life and encourage healing to begin. 

Graveside Services at Cemeteries in Loretto, TN

Giles Memory Gardens can aid you to plan services at need or in advance. We can arrange for graveside services at cemeteries in Loretto, TN, to give your loved one a beautiful farewell. Visit us today at our funeral facility at 140 Bethel Rd, Pulaski, TN 38478. You can contact us at (931) 363-0097.