A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary is a business that provides

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

, entombment and

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared visitation and

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

, and the provision of a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

for the funeral, memorial service/service of remembrance or celebration of life.

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, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

, 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. Acco ...

to the news media. Its pews do not feature racks behind them like in

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s and churches. 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 North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. 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, crematory or cremation center 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 cremat ...

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 A coffin or casket is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, for burial, entombment or cremation. Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets, particularly in American English. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" a ...

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 with embalming chemicals in modern times to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for viewing as part of the funeral ceremony or ...

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 a multicellular organism, 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 a ...

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, Inc., received a particularly large jury verdict in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

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

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

-based company then brought suit against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

alleging violations under

NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

based

Service Corporation International Service Corporation International is an American provider of funeral goods and services as well as cemetery property and services. It is headquartered in Neartown, Houston, Texas, and operates secondary corporate offices in Jefferson, Louisia ...

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 Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, 1900 Image:J. Levy & Bro.jpg, J. Levy & Bro Funeral Home in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

Image:Abbey Chapel, Lubbock, TX IMG 4738.JPG, Abbey Chapel at the Resthaven Memorial Park Cemetery in

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Image:Salmisen hautaustoimisto.jpg, A funeral home Salmisen hautaustoimisto in

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Image:Purpose of a funeral, Lubbock, TX IMG 4737.JPG, Reasons for funerals, from "The Funeral from Ancient

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

to Present-day America", Resthaven Memorial Park Image:OVERTONFH.jpg, Overton Funeral Home in

Islip, New York Islip ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. The population was 339,938 at th ...

Image:Seattle - Columbia Funeral Home 01.jpg, Columbia Funeral Home in Seattle, Washington

References

{{Authority control Funerals Burials

Services

See also

Image gallery

References