A funeral service, like a wedding or birth of a child, is a life event that you have only one chance to make as special and personal as possible. A well-planned, personalized funeral service is a fitting celebration of the life that has been lived. The caring professionals at Cypress-Fairbanks Funeral Home are very skilled listeners. We encourage you to express any preference you have. No question is too minor to ask us. In the overwhelming majority of cases, we can follow your wishes to the letter. Most of all, we want to help you and your family decide what feels right for you.

A meaningful funeral will:

1. Bring together a community of mourners to remember the deceased.
2. Create opportunities to express our grief and to offer each other emotional support.
3. Allow us to search for meaning in life and death.
4. Provide mourners with a sense of closure.

Personalizing the Funeral Service
No two funerals are alike, nor should they be. Your Cypress-Fairbanks Funeral Director can help you personalize a funeral within a budget you are comfortable with and in the way you want your loved one remembered. Since your Cypress-Fairbanks Funeral Director will do whatever is possible to help you create a meaningful ceremony, be sure to share your ideas for personalizing the funeral with him or her. Ask questions and state your unique preferences no matter what they may be.

It is also important to understand the exact types of services and merchandise you will receive for the price you will pay. We encourage you to compare Cypress-Fairbanks Funeral Home’s services with any other funeral home. We are sure that our reputation of service will provide you comfort in your decision. Unlike most consumer transactions, funeral arrangements are usually made at a very emotional time, so take advantage of our experience and let us help plan the type of funeral service you want that is within your budget.

There are many traditional choices to make; simple or elaborate, viewing or visitation, remembrance or religious rites, chapel or grave site., burial or cremation. Additionally, your choices of music, flowers, location, monument, etc. can all reflect your individual tastes and wishes. As you consider your choices, also think about the people who will attend your services. Sometimes, something as simple as a certain piece of music or type of flower can offer loved ones a great deal of comfort when it elicits a special memory or significance. Below are some ideas to help you personalize a funeral service.

Ideas to Personalize a Funeral Service

• Write a letter to the person who has died and express all of the feelings you ever wanted to say and place it in the casket.
• Bring in the favorite song of the person who has died and have funeral director play it during the visitation and/or funeral service.
• Bring photographs to the funeral director to be used on a “memory board” for the visitation and funeral service.
• If your loved one had a hobby, bring some of their works in to be displayed at the funeral home. For example your funeral director could take quilt work and drape it over the casket.
• If you or your loved one have favorite scripture readings, let your funeral director know and they will see to it that they are incorporated into the service.
• If your loved one composed poetry or essays, we can reproduce several copies so that people might take these with them from the funeral home. They could also be recited as a part of the services.
• If the person who died was not a regular churchgoer, consider a memorial service in a favorite place that perhaps reflected their lifestyle; like a park, the marina or even a basketball court.
• Eulogize the person who has died during the funeral or visitation. Oftentimes the clergy person did not know the person who has died. Who better can do that than someone who better knew the person who died.
• Place cherished items in the casket like pictures of the grandchildren and other family members, a photo of the family pet, a favorite golf club, a pool stick, a well worn baseball cap, or a religious item.
• In processing to the cemetery, consider a favorite place your loved one liked to go, like their favorite park, or the beach, or even a favorite restaurant.
• There are many more ideas your Cypress-Fairbanks Funeral Director could share with you. Or, discuss any special ideas you might have with him or her. They are professional, caring and experienced.

Options for Final Disposition
Perhaps no other moment in the funeral experience is as powerful as the final disposition. For survivors, this is a strong symbolic moment – confirmation that they must let go of the person who died and look ahead to changed lives.

Earth burial, otherwise known as interment, is the most common form of disposition in the United States. Americans seem to prefer the idea of a final resting place and a cemetery grave site where they can go to remember the person who died.

Cemeteries may be owned by municipalities, churches, religious groups or other private organizations, and may have requirements about the type of outer burial container that may be necessary. Some place restrictions on types of markers or monuments. Veterans may be eligible for burial in state or national government cemeteries. Your Cypress-Fairbanks Funeral Director can answer your questions about local cemetery requirements and practices.

The rites and ceremonies of funeralization, including embalming and visitation, often accompany cremation. Final disposition options after cremation includes earth burial, entombment or scattering. Some families choose to keep the cremated remains in an urn or other appropriate container. Some may choose cremation and disposition of the body with no attendant rites or ceremonies.

A Final Note
During the first few days after a death, family and friends surround you. You are busy planning the funeral and may not have time to think about yourself until later when you are alone with your grief. After you have planned the funeral, take care of yourself.

You can expect to experience a wide range of emotions. Grieving is hard work, and you may feel tired and lethargic without understanding why. Lighten your schedule if you can, eat healthy foods, and exercise to renew your energy. Take time to be alone with your thoughts, but also spend time talking to close family and friends about your loss. You need to express your emotions. Ask your Cypress-Fairbanks Funeral Director about aftercare services to support your needs during this time.