Itemized
$4,810
 
Package Price
$4,395

Full Traditional Service with Cremation

  • Basic Services of Funeral Director & Staff
  • Embalming
  • Other Preparation of the Body
  • Transfer of remains to funeral home
  • Use of Facilities, Staff & Equipment for Visitation
  • Use of Facilities, Staff & Equipment for Funeral Service
  • Casket Coach (Hearse)
  • Utility Car
  • Crematory Fee
  • Same Day Traditional $4,195
 
Itemized
$3,570
 
Package Price
$2,995

Cremation with Service of Remembrance (Without Deceased Present)

  • Basic Services of Funeral Director & Staff
  • Sanitary Care of the remains
  • Transfer of remains to funeral home
  • Use of Facilities, Staff & Equipment for Private Family Farewell
  • Use of Facilities, Staff & Equipment for Memorial Service
  • Utility Car
  • Crematory Fee
 
Itemized
$2,685
 
Package Price
$2,295

Non Ceremonial Cremation with Private Family Farewell

  • Basic Services of Funeral Director & Staff
  • Sanitary Care of the remains
  • Transfer of remains to funeral home
  • Use of Facilities, Staff & Equipment for Private Family Farewell
  • Crematory Fee

Your Cremation Services in North Hollywood

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 give us a call . One of our cremation specialists will address any of your inquiries or concerns.

The Cremation Process

Traditional cremation is the process of reducing a body at very high temperatures until it is nothing but brittle, calcified bones. These are then processed into what we commonly call ashes. Returned to the family in a temporary urn (or a more personal urn selected by the family), these ashes can be kept, buried, or scattered. Some families even choose to place a loved one's cremated remains in a hand-crafted piece of cremation art.


Author Michelle Kim, in How Cremation Works , details the cremation process: "In modern crematories, the body is stored in a cool, temperature-controlled room until it's approved for cremation. The body is prepared by removing pacemakers, prostheses and silicone implants. The body is then put into a container or casket made out of flammable materials such as plywood, pine or cardboard."


The container is placed in the retort or cremating chamber. It takes anywhere from two to three hours to reduce an average adult to ash. When the cremated remains are cooled, they are processed to a uniformly-sized pebble-like substance and placed in an urn. The funeral director then returns the cremated remains to the family.

4 Questions to Keep in Mind When Choosing 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, and service charges are paid; 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 favorite 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.

Cremation Planning

6 Steps to Arrange a Cremation Services

1) Start Planning Online or Give Us a Call

You can start planning your cremation service with our Pre-arrange online platform.

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.

6) Ashes Returned

After cremation is completed, your loved one's ashes are safeguarded and promptly returned to you.

Check Our Cremation Options

FAQ: How long will it take to cremate my family member?

Naturally, this question is best answered when we talk specifics: why type of cremator will be used? How large an individual was your loved one? Usually it takes 2 - 2 1/2 hours for the process. A cool-down period follows, and then the cremated remains are processed for a uniform appearance. Certainly, if the issue is import ant to you, we urge you to speak to your funeral director.

For more commonly asked questions, feel free to visit our cremation FAQ page by clicking on the button below. 
Cremation FAQ

6 Benefits That a Cremation Service Can Provide

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.

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 it in memorial jewelry, blast them as apart of fireworks, mix them into the ink of a tattoo, and do some many other creative things with ashes.

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.

Simplicity

Often times, 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 service 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.

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 disturbs the Earth to inter a casket. Crematories do release carbon emissions into the air, but new technology is really starting to reduce the amount and impact.

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 do 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.

Are You Ready to Talk About Cremation?

We want you to know that no matter your reasons for choosing cremation, we're here to help you explore your options. When you're ready, call us  to set an appointment or simply drop by our office. You can also send us an email via our online  contact us  form.

Sources:
  1. What is Cremation, Cremation Association of North America
  2. Mathisen, Tyler, "Cremation is the Hottest Trend in the Funeral Industry"