Services

Coping with a loss is never easy, and services are an essential part of the recovery process. A Funeral service provides those who are grieving with a supportive environment in which they can begin to find closure, say goodbye, and come to terms with the loss. Gathering with friends and family gives everyone the opportunity to connect, share memories, offer words of sympathy, and create a lasting network of comfort and support as they start the journey toward healing and peace. No matter the setting, style, or direction you choose, our professional staff are honored to assist you in creating a service that reflects your loved one’s unique life journey.

Burial Services

There are different elements you can choose from when arranging a burial, depending upon your individual needs and preferences:

Funeral or Memorial Services

can take place at a funeral home, in a church or even at your home. The service is a ceremony which serves to celebrate, honor, and remember the life of the deceased. Whether traditional or unique, both the visitation and the funeral service can be personalized to reflect the individuality of your loved one. For more information on personalization, visit our page on Celebrating Life. m

Immediate Burial

Means that your loved one’s physical remains will be buried or entombed without a public service or gathering.

Visitation

(also called a “viewing”, “wake” or “calling hours”) allows family and friends to gather in a room with the departed loved one (in an open or closed casket) and gives everyone the opportunity to say goodbye and offer their support and sympathy to the bereaved.

Graveside, Chapel, or Committal Services

are held at the cemetery, and allow family and friends to be present as their loved one is transferred to his or her final disposition through ground burial.

Cremation Services

After the cremation itself, there are a variety of choices for your loved one’s final disposition:

The biggest misconception about cremation is that there can’t be a funeral service or visitation. This is absolutely not the case – when you choose to care for the physical remains through cremation, we encourage you to consider holding a memorial service as well. There are many options open to you when it comes to honoring your loved one’s life: you can provide a chance for friends and family to say goodbye through a final viewing before the cremation, and you can also hold a formal service either before or after the cremation occurs.

Interment

means that you’ll bury or entomb your loved one’s cremated remains. This can be in the family plot, a memorial site, a cremation niche or urn garden, or in a variety of other indoor and outdoor locations. Ask our staff for a detailed list of interment possibilities.

Graveside Services

are similar to those celebrated alongside a traditional ground burial, in which loved ones are present at the burial of the cremated remains and honor the deceased through memorial prayers or other meaningful tributes.

Scattering

allows you to spread your loved one’s cremated remains in a memorial garden, a cemetery, over water, or across any other meaningful site. You can also choose to scatter some of the cremated remains and retain the rest in an urn for internment or another form of disposition.

Placing cremated remains in multiple urns

allows family members who are separated by distance to each feel the comfort of having their loved one’s final resting place in a nearby location.

International Affairs

Our organization will assist families with the process of bringing their loved one’s home and ensure that all of the mandatory requirements are met in a timely fashion.

Considering our diverse communities, families long to have their relatives laid to rest in their homeland, alongside the ancestors who passed before them. Repatriation is a service that Guckin Funeral Mansion offers to our families who wish to honor their loved ones in their native land. Before a funeral home can arrange transport of the deceased there are general documents that must be procured. All bodies transported must be accompanied by a Communicable Disease Affidavit, Embalmers Affidavit, Burial/Transfer Permit and Death Certificate. Our funeral home has developed relationships with most of the consulates in the area and have the experience and knowledge to offer repatriation services without hesitation. Our network of affiliates enables us to provide families the following services:

– Domestic and International Logistics

– Consulate Documentation

– Apostille Certification

– Translation of all Pertinent Documents

Honoring Veterans

We would be honored to help you make arrangements for any combination of traditional military tributes.

We’re proud to do our part in honoring our country’s veterans and giving back to those whose sacrifice and patriotism define our great nation. Our duty is to provide you and your family with professional and dignified assistance during your time of need, and to support you in honoring your loved one for their dedication and selfless service. We would be honored to help you make arrangements for any combination of traditional military tributes.

Traditional Elements & Honors

Standard honor military funerals can include:

– A military chaplain for family members

– Flag Presentation Service by the chaplain of the American Legion

– A Final Salute at the gravesite

Full honor military funerals

include all standard honors in addition to the following:

– Depending on their rank, general officers and flag officers receive a 16 gun salute

– The US flag draped over the casket, and given to the next of kin following the service

– The playing of Taps by a lone bugler or an audio recording

Other Veteran Benefits

In addition to coordinating honors related to the service itself, we can help you communicate with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to arrange for:

A Presidential Memorial Certificate

This is a certificate expressing the nation’s recognition of the veteran’s service. The veteran’s name is inscribed and the certificate bears the signature of the president. Certificates are issued in the name of honorably discharged, deceased veterans. Contact us for assistance in applying for a Presidential Memorial Certificate, and we would be happy to guide you through the process.

Headstones or Markers

The VA provides headstones and markers for the graves of veterans anywhere in the world and for eligible dependents of veterans buried in national, state veteran or military cemeteries.

Burial in a VA National Cemetery

This includes the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, a grave box, and perpetual care.

Memorial Plots

Reimbursement of Burial Expenses

For information on eligibility and the different levels of potential reimbursement, please see the link below:

Additional Resources

Please visit the following links for detailed information about the options available for honoring service members and other aspects of military funerals: