Monthly Archives: May 2020

Renton, WA cremation services

Five Steps to Perfect Renton, WA Cremation Services

Cremation is gaining in popularity fast as an alternative to earth burial, but many of our clients aren’t sure what to expect when they walk in our door. If you’re choosing Renton, WA cremation services, our staff is ready to walk you through the process as soon as we get your call. Here are the five essential steps you’ll need to take for an ideal tribute to your loved one at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory.

Cremation Method

The first and most critical choice you’ll have to make when choosing cremation is how you want the process to be performed. The traditional cremation is done using a cremator, which is a powerful oven that burns up to 1,400 degrees fahrenheit and reduces the remains to bone ash in under three hours. But for those who want a more eco-friendly option, we offer Aquamation, also known as Alkaline Hydrolysis. This method uses a heated alkaline solution that speeds up the body’s natural decay process with the same result in only eight hours.

Basic Cremation or Full Package?

When you choose cremation services with us, you’ll get access to our full facility and all the amenities of our burial packages. We offer a variety of packages suitable for every budget, including amenities like visitation before cremation and a memorial service held in our facilities. But if you prefer to host your own memorial off-site, we offer a basic cremation package ideal for speedy and professional service.

What’s Your Timeline?

One of the benefits of cremation is that we operate on your clock, not anyone else’s. As soon as we get everything in order, we can perform the cremation and return the ashes to you in a basic cremation container or the urn of your choice. You can then return with the ashes to our facilities at a later date for a full memorial service, once you’ve arranged the guest list and all the amenities. With cremation, there’s no rush to bury a body, but we can also do faster ceremonies if you would like to have viewing of the body at the service before the cremation.

A Final Resting Place

One of the most critical decisions you’ll make when choosing cremation is what vessel you want to take home for the ashes. We offer a selection of hundreds of classic urns, each with their own unique design and equipped with anti-spill technology. We also offer cremation vaults if you want to have the ashes interred in a burial plot or mausoleum, and a selection of scattering urns if you plan to distribute the ashes.

Service Details

Finally, if you’ve chosen one of our full memorial packages, we’ll work with you to create an on-site memorial with speakers, music, and decorations. This can be customized to reflect the life your loved one lived and to allow guests to share their memories. We also have an extensive digital memorial program, so loved ones and friends who weren’t able to pay tribute in person can pay their respects online.

The path to the best Renton, WA cremation services begins with a call and a first consultation. Contact Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory to get started today.

Renton, WA funeral homes

Frequently Asked Questions About Working With Renton, WA Funeral Homes

Life and death come when you least expect it, and planning a final farewell to a loved one is always stressful. At Renton, WA funeral homes, we see people when they need our guidance and it’s common for them to have a lot of questions. In this article, we’ll look at some of the most frequently asked questions we get at Columbia Funeral Home & Cremation.

What Is the Ideal Timeline for Planning a Funeral?

That depends on you and your family, along with your plans for the memorial service. As soon as we get your call, we’ll step in and take custody of the body along with taking care of all outstanding legal issues. From there, you’ll come in for a consultation to look at packages. Many of our families choose to have a funeral within three days of contacting us, usually for a small group of friends or family. Larger ceremonies can be arranged over longer periods, up to several weeks later.

Can I Have a Full Memorial Service with Cremation?

Yes! If you’re choosing cremation services as an alternative to earth burial, you have full access to our facilities and services if you choose. We do offer a basic cremation package for families that want to arrange their own memorial service privately at a later date, but otherwise all the amenities of our funeral packages are available. One advantage is that the timeframe is a lot more flexible, as you can take the ashes home and return weeks or even months later for the memorial.

Can I Pre-Plan Services at Your Funeral Home?

Pre-planning services for your own memorial is becoming increasingly popular as a way to take the stress off your family. That’s why we offer a program that is ideal for planning years or even decades in advance. You can lay out as many major or minor details as you want for your service, ensure any essential documents are in stock so there’s no hunt for them, and arrange an upfront or installment payment plan to take the financial pressure off your loved ones.

Can I Arrange Veteran’s Services at Your Funeral Home?

There are few responsibilities more sacred to a funeral home than ensuring veterans who choose to be laid to rest here get the proper honors. That’s why we have a close relationship with representatives from the US military, and are well versed in arranging details such as the military honor guard. Any member of the US military who served honorably in war or peace is entitled to honors including complimentary headstones, markers, or burial flags.

What Are Your Facilities Like?

Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory is a full-service funeral home ideal for hosting small and large memorial services. Our facilities include room for private visitations and viewings, along with a large meeting hall that can be decorated for a personalized memorial service for your loved one. Our crematorium is large and fully equipped with facilities for both traditional cremation and Aquamation.

If you have any more questions about funeral homes in Renton, WA, contact Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory today. Our staff is standing by to set up a consultation.

cremation services in Seattle, WA

New Trends in Seattle, WA Cremation Services

Many of our clients are surprised to learn that cremation is fast becoming the most popular choice for memorializing a loved one, outstripping earth burial. That’s because when you choose cremation services in Seattle, WA, you’re getting services that are evolving to help you deliver a fitting tribute to your loved one. At Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory, these are just a few of the new trends we’re embracing to better serve our families.

A Better Urn

How many times have you seen a movie or TV show with a hilarious mishap where grandma’s ashes go flying everywhere? That’s funny on the screen, but not in your home. Thankfully, cremation urns have changed a lot to be spill-resistant thanks to a stronger seal in the lid. We offer hundreds of stylish urns, many of which can be personalized with an inscription or have a unique artistic design.

We also offer a line of scattering urns, designed with a unique lid that opens slowly for easy and safe distribution of the ashes.

More Options for Interment

Many of our families choose cremation, but still want to have the remains laid to rest on the funeral grounds with the rest of the family. That’s possible thanks to an assortment of attractive cremation vaults, which serve as miniature coffins holding the remains that can be buried in a funeral service. Another option is spreading the ashes at a memorial garden, where a plaque can be laid listing all the people who rest there.

Eco-Friendly Options

Many of our families ask for a way to memorialize their loved one while having a positive impact on the environment. That’s why we offer Aquamation, or Alkaline Hydrolysis. This alternative to traditional cremation uses a heated alkaline solution to speed up the body’s natural decay, reducing the body to bone ash in only eight hours without the use of a powerful cremator.

For a more eco-friendly memorial option, we offer a pair of unique options. Biodegradable urns holding a tree seed are designed to break down in the earth, releasing the seed and incorporating the ashes into a growing tree. Coral balls are a unique option for sea burial, using a ceramic vessel that attracts sea life and turns your loved one’s memorial into a mini-ecosystem for coral and other organisms.

Flexible Timelines

One of the biggest challenges of planning a memorial service on short notice is getting everyone in one place. Cremation gives the family much more flexibility, as cremation can be done immediately and there’s no reason to hold the memorial service until everyone can get there. It’s common to hold a memorial service weeks or even months after the cremation, be it at our facility or at a personal location for a scattering ceremony. Cremation puts the timeline back in your hands.

If you’re interested in hearing how we’re working these trends into our cremation services in Seattle, WA, contact Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory to set up a consultation with our staff today.

Seattle, WA funeral homes

How to Incorporate Food Into Memorial Services at Seattle, WA Funeral Homes

When planning to say goodbye to a loved one at Seattle, WA funeral homes, it’s natural to think back on the many good times you shared. Few things unite a family and create warm memories more than food, so many people are starting to incorporate food creatively into the celebrations of life they plan. At Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory, we’re working to creatively incorporate these culinary traditions into the events we host.

How Is Food at a Memorial Service Arranged?

Few funeral homes have on-site kitchens or catering facilities, but they do have meeting and banquet halls ideal for hosting large events. To find the food to share at these events, the best approach is to partner with a local restaurant. That food can be brought in heated or to be reheated, and many funeral homes have deals with local restaurants to offer catering for memorial services at a reduced rate with funeral packages.

Simple Refreshments

Even before meals associated with memorial services were common, it was a regular decision to have a table of refreshments or light snacks at the memorial service. This can be put together from packaged or homemade treats, or brought in from a local bakery. This is especially common in Italian culture, where a cookie table full of traditional treats is a staple of any large family gathering.

A Collective Effort

If you want to skip a full catered dinner from a restaurant as a cost-saving effort, it’s possible to harness the help of your support system for a full meal. The potluck dinner takes the stress off the family and doesn’t leave anyone with too much work by asking every guest or close friends and family to bring a simple dish. These dishes are then combined into a makeshift family-style dinner for everyone to enjoy.

On-Site Catering

If your loved one had a favorite restaurant or one where some of the family’s most important moments took place, it’s easy to arrange a memorial meal with the staff. You can choose to have the memorial dinner on site at the restaurant if they have the proper facilities, or to have the food brought to our meeting halls. We have partnerships with many of the best local restaurants, and are happy to facilitate a partnership through our funeral director.

Gifts to Go

There is no greater way to let someone know you’re thinking of them then by sending them a gift you know they’ll enjoy. That’s why most funeral homes offer a selection of gifts ideal for sending your condolences to the family of the deceased. Flowers are the most common choice, but it’s becoming increasingly popular to send edible gifts instead. Fruit arrangements or chocolate assortments are sure to please and comfort a family.

Do you have ideas for how to incorporate food into your loved one’s celebration of life? Seattle, WA funeral homes are ready to help, so contact Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory for more information today.