Glossary Terms

A meeting with the funeral director in which you discuss your wishes for the funeral and the disposition of the body.

Are the cremated remains of a body after cremation.

Also called interment, earth burial at a cemetery is the most traditional method for final disposition of the body.

A special container for burying a body.

An area of land set apart for or containing graves, tombs or funeral urns.

A room or building with niches or recesses for funeral urns to be stored.

A brief graveside ceremony held with the casket or urn present before it is lowered into the ground.

A form of disposition that involves reducing the body through intense heat to cremated remains.

An above ground burial site in a mausoleum.

A cremation without a funeral or memorial service.

A method of preserving the body for a number of days following death. This allows the family to view the body and hold the funeral service on a day that is convenient for out-of-town friends and relatives.

A eulogy is a speech in celebration of your loved one, a very personal account of the way they have touched your life and others.

The ceremony that honors and celebrates the end of a person's life.

A person who provides personalized services to a family to create a meaningful ceremony or ritual during a life transition.

An outer container that protects the casket from the weight of the earth.

A large funeral vehicle used for moving a body and casket to the place of burial.

The fee typically paid to a clergy-person or celebrant for officiating the funeral ceremony and to musicians or soloists for their contributions.

A small building in a cemetery that is like a burial plot above the ground.

One of a number of recesses in the wall of a columbarium where the urn containing cremated remains is placed.

A notice in the newspaper that announces the death to the community and summarizes the person's life. The article invites readers to attend the funeral and/or make memorial contributions in the name of the person.

Pallbearers will carry the casket from the funeral site to the hearse, then from the hearse to the burial site.

A small vase-like container specially designed for holding cremated remains.

A concrete or metal container into which the casket is placed before burial at a cemetery.

A scheduled time for family and friends to come and see the deceased after they have been prepared by a funeral home.