Free Cremation Inurnment Service Proves Successful

Families and Friends release balloons at the Mausoleum Urn service at Killeen Memorial Park.

About two months ago we came across a story from Killeen, Texas, and wrote about what Rachel Dwyer, general manager of the Heritage Funeral Home and Killeen Funeral Home was planning.  In that article we commented that we thought that this could really prove to be a positive public relations move and something that would serve families well and could become an annual affair.

What Ms. Dwyer, and other funeral directors like me have noticed as we have moved from a plurality of casketed services to a plurality of cremation services, is that families many times delay making a decision as to what will be done with the remains of their loved one following the cremation.  We know that some remain at the funeral home unclaimed and many go home with the survivors to a life of sitting in closets.

What isn’t done, for whatever reasons — maybe financial, maybe emotional — is that the remains are never given a permanent, eternal memorial space or niche.  Ms. Dwyer worked with the Killeen Memorial Park to have a full size mausoleum made available for families to inter or inurn their loved one in free of charge.  Small nameplates could be put on the outside of the crypt space and families would now have the satisfaction and peace of mind that their loved ones were put to rest.

It turns out that the event was held last Saturday and over 30 families or funeral homes took advantage of the situation to inurn their loved one.  One family member, Richard Whitehead commented, “Now my wife has a resting place”.  It was also noted that at least two funeral homes from neighboring communities brought urns to be placed inside the crypt.  You can read the article here.

In my life as a funeral director I know families who would like a permanent grave space or niche for their loved one but, as funny as it sounds, just could not afford this cost.  In my opinion, this is a great way for a funeral home to be benevolent to those people, by providing this common space, and make a difference in their lives – not everyone wants a scattering garden for their loved one.  Kudos to Rachel Dwyer for thinking of it and in this season of Thanksgiving try to think of something your funeral home may be able to do to help those less fortunate than you.

 

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