When you are grieving the loss of a loved one after their cremation services in Bellevue, WA, keep in mind that your grief is going to be different than other people’s. Even if you have gone through the grieving process before, things might go at a different pace this time and that’s okay. There’s no way to predict how you are going to feel, but there are some things you might ask yourself as you move through the process after the services are behind you.

When Will I Feel Better?

This is probably the biggest question people ask themselves. They want to feel better, and they want to know when that will happen. It would be great if you could get out your calendar and mark a date so you could work toward that date and know that you will feel better when that date comes around. But that’s not how grief works. There’s no telling when you will start to feel better because grief uses a different path and a different timeline in each individual.

Will I Ever Get Over The Loss?

The answer to this is no. You aren’t really going to ‘get over’ the loss. You’re always going to miss that loved one because they are no longer with you. But with time, you will learn to live with the loss and you will figure out a new normal and a way to move on. That may feel like ‘getting over it,’ in a way, or just a way of figuring out life without that person.

How Can I Get Support?

There are lots of places to look for support. First, you might go to family members and friends and that’s always a good place to start. You might be able to find what you need there. You can talk to certain friends and lean on certain family members. If you want more, though, you can go to a counselor who can help you work through your grief. You might look into grief support groups, too, which can help you feel less alone. Funeral homes have access to grief resources if you want to look into those sorts of things.

What’s Wrong With My Compared To Others?

It’s not a good idea to look at other people in your family and compare your grief to theirs. You might have a sibling that seems to be doing find with the loss of your parent while you are suffering heavy grief. Your grief can’t be compared to anyone else because you aren’t them and you didn’t have the same relationship with the person that they did. You have to deal with your own grief and not compare it to anyone else.

When you walk through cremation services in Bellevue, WA for a special loved one, it’s natural to have questions for yourself after you have that part of the process behind you. The professionals at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory are here to help with grief resources whenever you need them.

When you are planning out cremation services in Tukwila, WA for a loved one, there are lots of details to include in the process. One of the things you will likely do for any kind of service you have is write up an obituary. Here are a few tips that can help you get things together and arranged in all the right ways.

Talk To Family About What To Include

You might want to consult with your family members about what they feel should be included. Some of the details are going to be obvious, but you might want to highlight a few accomplishments and other items and they might have ideas as to what is most important. Talk to them if you get stuck or if you just want a consensus as to what you want to put in there.

Gather Bio Info

There are a variety of things that most people include in the obituary by way of biographical information. You can gather those details and write them down in list form and then use obituary examples to arrange them in a way that feels natural and normal for people to read.

Try To Infuse Personality

You want your loved one’s personality to come across in the obituary so it sounds a little different than other people’s death announcements. You might talk about something they adored, include a pet’s name, or something else to show something about who they were. You won’t be able to get much in if you are trying to keep things short, but even something brief can give it some personality and uniqueness.

List Charity For Donations

If you want people to donate to a certain charity in your loved one’s honor, it’s nice to list that charity in the obituary so anyone who sees it knows what the family wants and doesn’t have to call the funeral home or any of the family members for ideas and suggestions. You can choose just one charity or you can list a few that your loved one appreciated and let people choose from there.

Illustrate Service Details

Even if the services aren’t open to the public, it’s nice to list when they are taking place and where so those who want to support the family can send flowers, cards, or other support items to the funeral home at that time. They might also just want to know what’s happening and when so they can think of you when the service comes about.

If you are working on cremation services in Tukwila, WA for a loved one, and you get to the stage where you want to write up the obituary, contact the professionals at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory for any help you need. They can help you figure out what things are normally included and how long you want the death announcement to be. They have examples on their website and can answer any questions you have about what you need to include.

You may already know that cremation services in West Seattle, WA are way less expensive than funeral and burial services, and they are. They take a lot of the products and services out of the picture that you just don’t need when you go with cremation instead of burial. However, just because cremation costs less doesn’t mean it is any less valuable. In fact, it is just as honorable and respectful as a traditional route.

They Are Less Expensive

Cremation doesn’t cost less because it is worth less. It costs less because you don’t have to have as much involved in the process. You don’t have to embalm your loved one. You don’t need a burial plot in the cemetery. You don’t have to buy a headstone. You don’t have to have a funeral, and the list goes on and on. Taking all of those things out means the process isn’t going to cost as much, but that doesn’t take any of the honor away from the procedure.

Services Can Be Added

Cremation services can still give you the closure and final goodbye you need because you can indeed add services to a general cremation. You can have whatever kind of memorial you want after the cremation process is complete. You can still honor your loved one in a unique way and gather your family to mourn for them, or even celebrate their life. That’s very valuable.

Ash Scatterings Are Possible

There are things you can do with cremation that you just can’t do with the traditional route. For example, you can place your loved one in a special location through an ash scattering ceremony. These ceremonies are often small, intimate, and very meaningful. You can place your loved one in a location they loved when they were around when you and that will give you a spot to visit when you want to think about them or even talk to them.

There Are Permanent Memorial Options

It’s also possible to give your loved one a permanent memorial, though you don’t have to buy a headstone for them because there is no cemetery plot. You can have a plaque put on a park bench or you can buy a brick in a walkway where they spent a lot of time. There are plenty of options to consider to honor your loved one in a permanent and meaningful manner.

When you are working on cremation services in West Seattle, WA, if you are even a little uncertain about the process, remember that it is just as honorable and respectful as a funeral service and that it brings a lot of value to the table itself. The professionals at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory encourage you to take your time in deciding as cremation is a permanent process that cannot be reversed. But it is a great choice that is used in about half of the cases today. Families can find nice ways to honor their loved one that are unique and special after cremation is complete.

One of the things to remember about cremation services in Bellevue, WA is that when you have your loved one cremated, you get to choose what kind of container they get for their remains after the cremation process is complete. Choosing a cremation package means they can automatically get a simple container from the funeral home, but you might want something more for them. There are a variety of urns on the market, many of which are unique, but there are other choices, too, that feel even more customized and unique. Here are a few to consider:

A Planter Pot

If your loved one had a green thumb, why not have their remains placed in a planter pot. You will think of them every time you see the pot and the plant that you grow in that pot will be all that much more special. New life will be growing out of their death and that can be meaningful to your whole family.

Wind Chimes

If you like the sound of the wind chimes in the breeze, it can feel right to you to have your loved one’s remains placed inside the chimes or in another part of the fixture. Your loved one is always present and blowing around in the wind on your porch, making beautiful music. Perhaps you spent a lot of time having chats with them out there and that’s fitting for you.

Hollowed Out Books

If your loved one always had their nose in a book, or if they had a favorite they adored, having a hollowed out book might be a nice way to keep their ashes safe and in a special location. You can place the book on a shelf with other books or in a special place of honor in your home. It’s a nice way to honor that person and keep them in a location that is unique and special.

Memorial Jewelry

Cremation jewelry is becoming more popular and it’s a nice way to keep your loved one as close as possible. You can get jewelry in many different materials and styles, but in general, they are usually pendant, heart, or cross shaped. You can put a little bit of your loved one’s remains in the jewelry and actually wear it to keep them close to your heart.

Stuffed Animals

If you have lost a child, or if your child has lost someone special to them, having remains placed in an urn within a stuffed animal can give you, or them, something to snuggle and hug when you want to think about that person.

There are lots of other options for unique urns and final resting containers for your loved one. You could place them in holiday ornaments to hang on the tree, within a musician instrument they adored, or even in a tackle box. The options are endless. After cremation services in Bellevue, WA, talk to the professionals at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory for even more choices and you can find something fitting for your loved one.

When you decide that you want to have cremation services in Tukwila, WA for a loved one, you will get a cremation package from the funeral home. That is really all you have to have for the process. The packages include everything you need. But the funeral home will also have plenty of product options in case you want something else outside of the package. Here are some of the product options you have that you can add to the package, if you so choose.

Urns

One of the most popular things you might want to add to the cremation package is an urn. While the package will include a simple container for your loved one’s remains, having an urn can make the process feel more special and customized. You can choose an urn of any kind and you can have it engraved, get a certain color or material, and other such things. There’s a wide range of options on price and style.

Scattering Tubes

If you know you want to scatter your loved one’s ashes, you can do so from an urn or a simple container from the funeral home. But the process is easier with a scattering tube, which is designed to help you with that scattering process. If you look at the options through the funeral home, it can make things simpler when you go about the scattering process.

Burial Vaults

If, instead, you have decided that you want to bury your loved one’s urn in a cemetery, you might want to get a burial vault to put around their urn to protect it. Some cemeteries even require these vaults so the grounds’ integrity is held up over time. This box will go around the urn in the ground.

Cremation Jewelry

There are some families that want to scatter some ashes, and keep some ashes. Cremation jewelry is a nice way to keep ashes as close to you as possible. The small urns on the jewelry pieces hold a little bit of ashes and they can be a real keepsake. They are also nice to share parts of your loved one with other family members.

Thumbies

If you want something special of your loved one to keep, you can have a thumbie made. This is a piece that includes a finger or thumb or even handprint of your loved one. It can become something really special that you pass down through generations to remember your loved one.

If you are organizing cremation services in Tukwila, WA for a loved one, it’s important to get the cremation package lined up first as that will take care of any needs they have. You also want to at least consider the other things you need for their services, or things you just want to add on for your own peace of mind. The professionals at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory have plenty of options for various products and you can also get these items from other vendors and we will still use them.

When you are trying to figure out what you want for your own cremation services in West Seattle, WA, or you have to plan for a loved one who has passed on, it’s important to budget your way through the planning process so you don’t end up with charges that are way above and beyond what you can afford. Here are some tips to help you figure out what you need to get, and how much you can spend on each thing.

Organize Items

There are several things that you are going to need for a memorial service and you might want to organize the items, separate them out, and decide how much of the budget goes to each. For example, if you want to have an urn for your loved one, you will want to have that as part of the budget. You might put food in the budget as well as chairs if you need to rent some, decorations, or other such things.

Describe What Is Needed

Putting ‘chairs’ or ‘an urn’ on the list of things you need to budget for is a start, but you need to know more about what you want in order to truly budget for it. One urn can cost very little while another costs a lot. What do you want in the urn? How many chairs do you need and what style do you want to rent? Describe the items you want and need to make it easier to find the right thing at a price point that works for your budget.

Figure Out Amount Necessary

It’s a good idea to take each thing you are going to need and figure out what a relatively reasonable budget is for that item. You don’t want to budget something way lower than you can get anything for. Look up some urns, chair rentals, food options, and so on and see what amounts are reasonable. Then, you can set a budget that will actually be worthwhile for your purposes.

Estimate Final Costs

Once you know the cost ranges, you can estimate what you need for each and set a budget. That will help you have a generic final cost range that will help you to gather the money you need, whether you have it in savings or you need to ask loved ones to help.

Figure Out Real Costs

As you choose items within each budget price range, you will build the final costs and figure out what you are going to end up with. Some things may cost at the top of the budget range you set for that item while other things might cost closer to the bottom of the range. You won’t have an exact number until everything is in place.

When you are ready for memorial services after cremation services in West Seattle, WA, the professionals at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory are there to help you through the ideas and options, including the various prices that you need to figure out for your budget.

When you lose a loved one, it can be hard to decide on cremation services in Bellevue, WA on their behalf if you didn’t know what they would have wanted. But there are certain circumstances that might make you feel better about that option over a traditional burial. Here are a few to consider. 

Your Loved One Was Disfigured 

If your loved one was in an accident that left their body disfigured, you might not want to have an open casket at a funeral anyway. That can make you feel good about cremation as the better option. You don’t have to worry about the state of their body in any way. You can cremate them and remember them for the wonderful person they were before the accident. 

Your Loved One Suffered A Long Illness 

If your loved one’s body wasn’t very good to them in that they had a long illness, you might want to rid them of their body entirely by going with cremation. Their body was riddled with an illness and you want that illness to be completely eradicated through the cremation process. It can be a cathartic way for you to rid them of the illness and let them go in peace. 

You Want To Remember Your Loved One As They Were 

It is helpful for the closure process, for some people, to see their loved one in the casket. You can easily recognize that the person is gone and not coming back. It is also a chance to say a final goodbye. However, not everyone likes to see the person they loved in that state. They are never going to look exactly the same as when they were alive. If you want to remember them how they were during their life, cremation might feel like the better fit for you. Go ahead with cremation and you can place pictures of them in their prime around the service and remember them that way. 

Your Loved One Wanted Cremation 

Whether you want cremation for your loved one or not, if you know they preferred that as their final disposition method, it will make you feel good about using the option on their behalf. You want to make sure their needs are met and you want to go along with their final wishes. 

When you are trying to decide what kind of services to have for your loved one, cremation services in Bellevue, WA are an honorable, respectful choice to make. You might feel good about that option in certain circumstances and it might feel like the perfect fit for your loved one’s situation. At Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory, we aren’t going to make any decisions for you, but we will offer you idea and options until you make a choice for your family. Then, we will support your plans with compassion and carry them out however you see fit. We want you to be able to honor your loved one in the way you want.

If you have thought far enough in advance, you might have a will prepared for the future. It’s a good idea to have things ready for that time when your family will need to know your wishes after you pass on. You might also think even further than that and plan your own final services with a funeral home. If you are considering that, you will want to decide whether you want a traditional funeral and burial or cremation services in Tukwila, WA.  Here are a few reasons why you might choose cremation over a burial. 

Reason 1: You Like The Price 

Cremation is always going to cost less than a traditional funeral and burial. There are far fewer products and services needed for a cremation, so there is less you have to pay for. You might like that price because you want to pay for your services in advance and the smaller price makes it easier for you to do so. You might also like the smaller price because you aren’t going to pay ahead and the less expensive option will make it easier for your family to pay in the future. 

Reason 2: You Want A Certain Final Resting Place 

If you go with a traditional funeral and burial, the final resting place is a plot in the cemetery. If that’s not what you want, then cremation is a good option for you to consider instead. You can have whatever final resting place you want if you go with cremation. You can ask your loves ones to keep your ashes in an urn at home. You can have them scatter the ashes in a certain location. Cremation opens the options and lets you dictate what your final resting place will be. 

Reason 3: To Remove The Timeline 

As you think about what kind of service you want for yourself when you pass on, you might realize that you really want your family to all be together. It can take time to plan and time for your family to travel to the right location. Using cremation takes the timeline away from the memorial service to make those things easier on your family. They can have your cremation done and then set a date for the memorial service so everyone can plan their travels and attend without too much trouble. 

There are plenty of other reasons why you might choose cremation services in Tukwila, WA and any reason that seems valid to you is a good one to choose. It can help to have reasons behind your decisions because when you talk to your family, you can tell them what you are thinking and why, which can help them understand your choices. The professionals at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory will take whatever decisions you make and support them so you will feel good about the options you are choosing. We’ll write up the plans and hold onto them for the future when you need to use them.

While there’s hope on the horizon that the pandemic will someday be a thing of the past, while in the thick of things, it’s better to think about safety when you are planning cremation services in West Seattle, WA. You’ve already lost a loved one. The last thing you want to do is hear that anyone got sick because of the services you had for that person. There are lots of ways you can keep yourself and other safe while honoring someone who passed on. Here are a few tips.

1-Plan Online

To limit your own exposure and the amount of meetings you have to have, you could plan at least some of the service online. There’s always going to be paperwork to fill out and while you might have to meet with the funeral home at some point, those visits can be shorter if you are able to do a lion’s share of the work online, away from others.

2-Outdoor Service Options

While outdoor services aren’t always ideal in this area of the country, you could have something short or wait for the time of year that would be nice enough to be outside. Having the outdoor service may allow you to invite more people and allow them to be more spaced out and safe with the fresh air all around everyone.

3-Limit Numbers

If you want to have a memorial in a church or even in a family home, you should limit the numbers of people that are gathering in that location. You can always have another larger service later as cremation doesn’t prevent you from doing more services whenever you want to hold them.

4-Consider Livestreaming

If you have some older people in your family who you want to protect, or some with health concerns that absolutely cannot be exposed, consider livestreaming whatever cremation service you choose to have. You can set them up with a device so they can watch the services and participate as best they can from the safety of their own home. Everyone can see what is going on as it is happening and not be left out just because they want to stay where they are safest and most comfortable.

There are plenty of other things you can do to hold cremation services in West Seattle, WA in a safe manner and the professionals at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory are here to help. When things went downhill last year, we worked very hard and very quickly to accommodate clients who still had loved ones that needed attention and honoring services. We have adapted and have plenty of options to consider. There are some industries that can shut down and wait it out. Ours is not one of them. We are still here working hard for you to give your loved one the services they need after they pass on. You can trust them in our hands, and you can trust us for advice on how to keep the rest of your family safe.

Cremation services in Bellevue, WA are becoming more popular today than ever before, even though they have been utilized for thousands of years. Even so, that doesn’t mean you have ever had the chance to use them or plan such services before. When you are thinking about your own final services, or if you are planning services for a loved one and you want to explore the cremation service option, the professionals are there for you.

When you work with a funeral home and cremation provider, they are always happy to discuss whatever services you want to know about in great detail. Making decisions in any case is important and if you are seriously considering what is the best for your situation, you want all of the details. You might be curious about some parts of the process or, you just want to know what you feel about everything. You can’t get a true read on the whole thing until you have all of the details.

Once you know everything you want to know about cremation, then if you choose it, you won’t have doubts. You will know it’s what you want. You want to know how it works, how much it costs, what the options are around it and so on. While you can get many of the details from the funeral home and cremation provider, you might also want to talk to people who have had cremation done for family members before, or who have perhaps chosen it as their own pre-plans. You can ask them how they felt about how the process went and why they chose that way, if you feel comfortable enough with that person.

The funeral home can also show you different service availabilities and talk to you about the options that people have chosen in the past. Hearing about things you could do with cremation on your side could help you to decide whether or not it is right for you or your family member. There are lots of things that go into the process besides just the cremation and the low cost. Learning more about the options can help you in your thought process a great deal.

When you have to plan final services for a family member, or when you want to plan your own final services in advance for yourself, cremation services in Bellevue, WA are an honorable option. Once you make the decision for cremation, you can feel good about it when you know enough about it to make that choice. The funeral home is there to help you get the information you need so you can make informed decisions. You can make your choices with confidence in knowing all of the details and having all of your questions answered. If you want to look into cremation and have questions, the professionals at Columbia Funeral Home & Crematory are here to help you figure out what you might want to do. We can get you the answers you need to make the right choices.