A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

for the funeral.

Services

Funeral homes arrange services in accordance with the wishes of surviving friends and family, whether immediate next of kin or an executor so named in a legal will. The funeral home often takes care of the necessary paperwork, permits, and other details, such as making arrangements with the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

, and providing

obituaries An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acc ...

to the news media. The funeral business has a history that dates to the age of the Egyptians who mastered the science of preservation. In recent years many funeral homes have started posting obituaries online and use materials submitted by families to create memorial websites. There are certain common types of services in North America. A traditional funeral service consists of a viewing (sometimes referred to as a visitation), a funeral service in a place of worship or the funeral home chapel and a graveside committal service. Direct cremation consists of the funeral home receiving the body, preparing it for the

crematory A crematorium or crematory is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also b ...

and filing the necessary legal paperwork. Direct/immediate burial is the forgoing of a funeral ceremony for a prompt, simple burial. Moving a body between mortuaries involves preparing it for shipment in a coffin strapped into an arbitrary or a combination unit (mac pac / airtray). This is common when it is to be buried in a different locality than where the person died. When a body is brought to a funeral home, it is sometimes

embalmed Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...

to delay decomposition or to make the viewing of the body more pleasant. The procedure typically involves removing sufficient blood material to accommodate the preservative chemicals and dyes, aspirating the internal

organs In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...

and setting the facial features. Cosmetics are used with the consent of the family to improve the appearance of face and hands for a more natural look. If the face or hands are disfigured by accident, illness or decomposition, the embalmer may utilize restorative techniques to make them presentable for an "open casket" service. If this is not possible, or the family wishes, the funeral home can perform a "closed casket" service. The funeral home often sets aside one or more large areas for people to gather at a visitation. This area may contain a space to display the body in a casket to visitors who may pay their respects. Funeral and memorial services may also take place at the funeral home. Many funeral homes offer prearrangement options for those who wish to plan their own funerals. Several large multi-national corporations in this service field have received exposure from high-profile litigation.Dummer, Stephen W., ''Mississippi Judicial System: Failing to Meet the Minimum Standard of Justice in Loewen Group, Inc. v. O’Keefe'', 6 GEO. J. L. & PUB. POL’Y 531 (2008). The

Loewen Group Raymond L. "Ray" Loewen (born June 27, 1940) is a former business owner and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Burnaby-Edmonds in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1975 to 1979 as a Social Credit member. Born in ...

, Inc., received a particularly large jury verdict in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, which was later found to be in error, as the allegations against Loewen Group proved false. The

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

-based company then brought suit against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

alleging violations under NAFTA.

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

based Service Corporation International has also had its share of legal troubles in its operations of both funeral homes and cemeteries. In 2009, a class-action lawsuit was filed against SCI and Eden Memorial Park, one of the cemeteries the corporation manages, based on allegations that remains were being moved around to create additional space for future interments. A settlement of $80 million was reached in 2014.

Image gallery

Image:Seattle - Butterworth funeral home office - 1900.jpg, Offices of the Butterworth & Sons mortuary in Seattle, Washington, 1900 Image:J. Levy & Bro.jpg, J. Levy & Bro Funeral Home in Galveston Image:Abbey Chapel, Lubbock, TX IMG 4738.JPG, Abbey Chapel at the Resthaven Memorial Park Cemetery in Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock, Texas Image:Salmisen hautaustoimisto.jpg, A funeral home Salmisen hautaustoimisto in Jyväskylä, Finland Image:Purpose of a funeral, Lubbock, TX IMG 4737.JPG, Reasons for funerals, from "The Funeral from Ancient Egypt to Present-day America", Resthaven Memorial Park Image:OVERTONFH.jpg, Overton Funeral Home in Islip, New York Image:Seattle - Columbia Funeral Home 01.jpg, Columbia Funeral Home in Seattle, Washington

References

{{Authority control Death care companies of the United States, Funerals Burials

Services

See also

Image gallery

References