Often after a death–no matter the circumstances–we are tempted to try and forget; the anger, pain, and sadness we experience after a loved one’s passing are feelings we may try to run from or put out of our minds.

But after we grieve, and after some time has passed and we begin to move on, we begin to realize how important it is to remember those whom we’ve lost. And though some of those emotions may still be painful, it’s important to try and remember that we are not dwelling on the person’s death, but rather celebrating the life they lived.

The holidays, especially, are a wonderful time to honor and remember our friends and loved ones who have passed away. Many groups in our community host public remembrance ceremonies throughout the holidays and the year. Public remembrances can bring up many personal emotions, but often it helps to be surrounded by those who understand and who can share in what you’ve been through. But celebrating and remembering in your own way can be as public or as private, and as simple or as festive, as you want and need it to be. The important thing is that you are keeping alive the memories of those who were, and will continue to be, important to you.

Don’t be afraid to take some time every once in a while to remember the ones you’ve lost. Not only will you be keeping their memories alive, but you’ll be showing your appreciation for the life they lived and the lives they’ve touched–including yours.

Howard K. Hill

As always we are proud of our community and families we are honored to serve. To help with this initiative you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube. If you have any questions about our services or are in need please feel free to contact Howard K Funeral Home to know everything you need to know about funerals and funeral services. Howard K. Hill Funeral Services has had the privilege of serving families in communities such as Suffield CT, Meriden CT, Hartford CT, New Haven CT, Bloomfield CT, Windsor CT and Hamden CT. We would like the honor to serve you too. Call us at (203) 551-9639 or visit our blog.

photo by patries71

Cremation is a process in which a body reduces to its basic elements, such as bone fragments, under very high temperature, pressure, and vaporization. All arrangements required for this are made by local crematories, such as Howard K Hill’s Suffield funeral home or Windsor funeral home. Cremation is done in a cremator, which is nothing but a furnace that generates high temperatures to disintegrate the body.

It is an individual’s choice to be buried or cremated; sometimes it depends on religious and cultural beliefs as well. The following are several common reasons why most of the people like to be cremated:

Reasons To Choose Cremation:

1) Cremation is a short process. Many people opt for it because in this the body disintegrates easily and quickly, not like a burial where the decomposition of a body requires a much longer time.

2) Cremation is an easy funeral process unlike burial, which is a lengthy and complicated process.

3) If the crematory services are kept simple and no fancy urns are chosen for the purpose, cremation can be quite cheap compared to the conventional burial method.

4) Cremation is certainly a more eco-friendly process of funeral, which saves a lot of cemetery space compared to burial that requires a larger space. Several countries, including Europe and Japan, seem to be running out of crematory space as the number of caskets is increasing significantly.

5) There are several options available to dispose of the remains after cremation. As the ashes are given to the family members, they are free to dispose them of according to their religious or personal beliefs, which include scattering them in rivers, burying them in the ground, or entombing them into a mausoleum.

6) Customs and religions influence one’s decision to be cremated or buried.

7) There is a common belief among many individuals that cremation is the fastest way to unite with Mother Nature, whereas the buried bodies undergo the decomposition phase for years.

Cremation is also preferred by some scientifically enlightened people who do not want their DNA to be used for cloning after their death.

Reasons To Choose Burial:

1) Burning the body of a close one in furnace right after his death sounds dissuading to many people.

2) Several religions, such as Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Islam, consider cremation as a disgrace to the dead; therefore, it is prohibited for the followers.

3) People often consider cremation as a method that simply eliminates all ways to reach their loved ones, which is not the same when the body is buried. They are able to pay respect to the dead at the grave any time.

4) Burial is considered a respectful way of funeral, which also retains the memories of the dead forever.

5) By burying a body, the dead person is offered an eternal resting place, which brings great peace of mind to his near and dear ones.

Irrespective of the chosen funeral methods, death itself is a harsh and painful reality that every living being has to experience some day. If death is anticipated, the harsh decisions should be made in advance. Family members of the dead should respect their last wishes and choose a funeral type preferred by the deceased. There are many Connecticut funeral homes, such as Howard K Hill’s Windsor funeral services or Suffield funeral services, that honor the deceased’s decision and make arrangements for a private funeral, if requested.

As always Howard K. Hill Funeral Services is proud of our community and families that we are honored to serve. To help with this initiative you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube. If you have any questions about our services or are in need please feel free to contact Howard K Funeral Home to know everything you need to know about funerals and funeral services. Howard K. Hill Funeral Services has had the privilege of serving families in communities such as Suffield CT, Meriden CT, Hartford CT, New Haven CT, Bloomfield CT, Windsor CT and Hamden CT. We would like the honor to serve you too. Call us at (203) 551-9639 or visit our blog.

Losing a loved one forever is a loss that cannot be consoled by any kind of compassionate words. However, this is a time when you not only undergo grief, but also have to make arrangements to lay your loved one to rest. Proper planning is required to find an appropriate funeral home that can suit your requirements as well as budget.

Choose a Connecticut funeral home where the deceased’s soul can rest in peace. In Connecticut, there are several such funeral homes that are set up in serene locations and offer ample funeral facilities. However, there are several funeral homes that try to fleece money from the bereaved family members during the time when they are the most vulnerable, that is, when they have lost a dear one forever. To curtail these malpractices, the Funeral Rule was passed in 1984 and was reenacted in 1994 to protect the bereaved family members from all kinds of abuse at the hands of the funeral home. At Howard K Hill Connecticut funeral home we understand your grief and help you with Connecticut funeral arrangements to make it easy for you to say goodbye.

Crematories And Funeral Services

Several valid reasons contribute to the growing preference for cremation to the conventional burial grounds. Often Americans choose cremation, as it is an economical, hassle-free, and eco-friendly way to dispose the corpses. Remains of the body, such as bone fragments and ashes, are scattered in the rivers or buried or kept at a secure place.

These days, cremation is considered an easy way to dispose of the body. Cremation is defined as a process in which the body is reduced to bone fragments in a furnace, which is heated at extremely high temperatures. Statistics show that around 27% of the dead were cremated in the United States, which is a remarkable increase from the 6% figure in 1975. In a crematorium, about 400,000 cremations take place in a year.

The states located on the western coast show the highest rate of cremation, whereas, in 7 states, half the number of the dead continues to undergo cremation. Howard K Hill provides Connecticut Cremation services to communities such as Suffield, New Haven, East Haven, Hartford, Windsor, West Haven, Bloomfield and many more.

Cremation Process

Cremation is a complicated process involving several steps. The process takes almost one and a half hours to reduce the body to ashes at a rate of 80 kg per hour. Cremation takes place in a crematorium, which houses a number of cremators. A cremator is basically a furnace that reduces the body to bone fragments or ashes under enormous temperatures. Generally, keeping the moral and legal aspects into view, only one body is cremated at a time looking; however, there are exemptions in case of a dead pregnant woman, whose unborn fetus is cremated along with her.

When a loved one expires, the event brings along an endless phase of agony. Grief and sorrow take over all emotions, and life seems too long to be spent with the memories of the deceased. But if you give the best funeral to your loved one, it will certainly alleviate the pain that your loved one has been laid to rest in peace in a respectful way. All you need to do is choose the best funeral home so that your loved one rests in peace. Opt for Howard K Hill Connecticut Cremation services to have the best funeral for your loved one.

As always Howard K. Hill Funeral Services is proud of our community and families that we are honored to serve. To help with this initiative you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube. If you have any questions about our services or are in need please feel free to contact Howard K Funeral Home to know everything you need to know about funerals and funeral services. Howard K. Hill Funeral Services has had the privilege of serving families in communities such as Suffield CT, Meriden CT, Hartford CT, New Haven CT, Bloomfield CT, Windsor CT and Hamden CT. We would like the honor to serve you too. Call us at (203) 551-9639 or visit our blog.

Do you, or someone you know, want to be cremated but haven’t got a clue as to what the procedure entails?

Cremation is slowly but surely gaining popularity in the US. There are many reasons for this.

1. Religious. An overall decline in the belief that our bodies should ‘return to earth’ and serve a purpose.

2. Economic. Cremation is deemed to be a lot more cost-effective than a burial. For instance, there’s no need to purchase a burial plot which are quite expensive nowadays.

3. Environmental. Actually, research shows that cremation is not better than a burial for the environment. However, there are plenty of ‘green’ or natural ways to conduct a cremation now that drastically reduces the negative effects and when done this way, it is environmentally better than a traditional burial.

What is Cremation?

Cremation is when intense heat is applied to the body, resulting in bone fragments. The whole procedure takes about 2-4 hours and the resulting fragments will weigh between 3-9 lbs.

Caskets are not mandatory during cremation. However, the body MUST be kept inside a inflexible container during the procedure. During a cremation, family members may or may not be present.

As mentioned above, a cremation may cost significantly less than a traditional burial since you don’t need to purchase burial grounds. However, costs can still be high if you opt for, say, an expensive urn to keep your loved one’s ashes in.

One of the best ways is to hire the services of a funeral home. A funeral parlor or home will most likely offer cremation services, which cover everything from getting the necessary death certificates to making arrangements with a crematorium. They may even offer a selection of runs from which you can choose.

What About the Funeral Service?

Many people think that a cremation entails forgoing the funeral service; not at all. You can have the body of your loved one cremated before or after such a service.

For example, you can rent a casket from the funeral home for a funeral service if you want it done with the body. After this, the cremation process takes place.

It’s also possible to have the cremation done first and then have a funeral service without the body. In this situation, what is commonly done is to have an enlarged photo of the deceased next to the urn containing his/her ashes.

What to Do With the Ashes

What you do with tout loved one’s ashes is up to you and/or your loved one (assuming cremation procedures have been discussed before hand). Here are some of the options available.

· Place the urn in a columbarium, which is basically row of niches in a cemetery designed to house containers of cremated ashes.

· Scatter the remains at sea or wherever your loved one wishes. (Note that a city or state permit may be required for this.)

· Keep the remains at home.

· Bury the remains in the family burial plot.

When life is turned upside down by the threat of a major disease or the loss of a loved one, we can feel terrified of the future. Imagine how Frodo Baggins felt the day he was forced to leave his cozy life in a village called the Shire.

Frodo, the hero of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, had just been chosen for a mission that would determine the course of history—not the sort of after-school assignment he would have volunteered for.

Talk about a major life change: On the way to accomplishing his mission, Frodo is stabbed by a ghost, chased by all sorts of nasty, sword-wielding creatures, and almost eaten alive by a spider that’s as big as a bull. Forget about “adapting to a new normal”—Frodo is just trying to stay alive from one minute to the next.

When bad things happen

There’s an unforgettable scene in The Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson’s film version of the first book in the Tolkien trilogy. Exhausted and afraid, Frodo is beginning to lose hope.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” Frodo says to Gandalf, his mentor and friend.

“So do I,” Gandalf replies—“and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

You probably don’t have carnivorous spiders stalking you. But I’m sure there are days when you feel as if you did. Like Frodo and his friends, you might be facing a life-threatening struggle. Like Frodo, you’re wondering why it had to happen.

We can’t control everything that happens in life. But we can learn to cope with change by letting go of the bad and holding on to the good.

Tell us your story

Tell us about how you coped with a major life change. Sharing your story is a vital part of the healing process.

Cremation is the thermal process wherein the help of heat, flames, and vaporization is taken to reduce the body into its basic elements like bone fragments. Crematories provide the necessary arrangements required for the cremation. A cremator is basically a furnace in which very high temperatures are generated to disintegrate the corpse.

The choice ultimately lies with an individual. To be buried or cremated is based on one’s view on religion, culture or just for personal reasons. But a few known reasons are highlighted below for both options:

Why people choose cremation:

1) Cremation seems to be a very personal approach. Most people do not like the idea of slow decomposition in case of burial. Cremation ensures rapid disposal of remains.

2) People tend to find cremation attractive as it eases the funeral processes. They view burial as an unnecessary and time-consuming procedure, where cremation simplifies matters.

3) Cremation also tends to be cheaper than the traditional burial process if direct and simple cremation is carried out rather than obtaining multiple crematory services and going for fancy urns.

4) People also prefer cremation as it is environment-friendly in the context of space. Traditional burial takes up a lot of cemetery space. Countries like Japan and Europe have started to run out of cemetery capacity as the numbers of caskets are increasing day by day.

5) The remains of the cremation offer various options as to the method of disposal. The remains can be given to the family members, entombed in a mausoleum, buried in the ground or scattered in the sea or any place preferred by the family.

6) Traditions and customs also determine the decision making of the method of funeral.

7) Many people hold this belief that a cremated person readily becomes an element of Mother Nature while a buried body takes years to decompose.

Some people also debate over the leaps made by scientific technology. They want to safeguard their DNA to prevent anyone from obtruding their privacy after death and making their clones.

Why people choose burial:

1) The idea of burning in a furnace, or otherwise, is repulsive to some people even after death.

2) Many religions like Islam, Judaism and Zoroastrianism prohibit cremation as this way is considered insulting and disgraceful to a dead body.

3) Most people do not want their loved ones to become unreachable. They prefer to have them buried as they can visit their dead at any time and pay due respect.

4) Burial dignifies and honors the body as a permanent memorial can be erected to keep the memory of the person everlasting.

5) Burial provides a safe resting place to a body through eternities. This thought gives solace to the loved one’s family.

No matter what method is chosen, death is after all, a grim and ruthless certainty and a merciless reality which everyone has to face. Whatever it comes down to it is better to be prepared and make decisions beforehand. Family members should be informed of the person’s preference between cremation and burial, so that wishes of the dead can be complied with.

Losing someone dear to you is painful enough. It is an agonizing truth that this person will never be able to share memories with you again, but what’s even harder for those people whom he or she left behind are the decisions to be made. Decisions about the remains, what to do thereafter, and where the funeral will be held, be it in a funeral home or at the place where the family gathers together during special times. Even more burdensome about any funeral is the thought of choosing funeral services and crematories. These factors will altogether put more load on those who are left behind by their loved ones.

A funeral home should be a cozy and comfortable place to stay not only for the loved one who has passed away, but also for the mourning family members. The Funeral Rule enacted in 1984 and rewritten in 1994 was passed for the purpose of protecting families across the United States from abuse that often occur in funeral homes at the time when bereaving members are most vulnerable.

Funeral Services and Crematories

There are several reasons as to why funeral services and crematories are chosen over the traditional rites in a funeral home. The top reason for that is because funeral services and crematories are much less expensive. It is a preference made by many Americans since it uses less land, it is much simpler, and it is even environment-friendly. Another reason why cremation is the preferred choice is that the ashes can be strewn or “scattered” back to the earth. Others may even keep the ashes and place it at an important corner of their home which will serve as a keepsake or a remembrance.

Nowadays, cremation is a practical way of memorial and disposition. By definition, cremation is the process of reducing the human remains into the basic elements such as bone fragments and the likes by undergoing heat or fire. In contrast to superstition, the remains found in cremation are not ashes yet they are coined as it is as a general thought.

In 2001, about 27 percent of deaths in the United States led to cremation from just 6 percent in 1975 and approximately 400,000 cremations are held annually in a crematorium. The Western Coast leads as the highest state-by-state cremation percentage with currently seven states with over 50 percent of those deaths lead to cremation.

The Process of Cremation

Cremation is a complex process which involves a lot of steps. The entire process will take about an hour and a half to burn the body and reduce it by 80 kg every hour. The cremation is held in a crematorium which houses several cremators. A cremator is much like a furnace except in this case, a corpse is being burned. Only one corpse is cremated at a time as this may pose not only several legal issues but moral issues as well. But at times, there are some exemptions, such as a deceased mother cremated along with her unborn or stillborn child. Before the entire cremation process can begin, the corpse is checked thoroughly to ensure jewelries and prosthetics are removed, and the cremation process will begin.

The death of a loved one will always be painful. Grief is the only emotion felt and it will always be there. Missing the person you love will pacify you from doing the routine work you used to do. But, preparing him or her for the next life with respect will help ease the pain. Be it by cremation or by an interment in a funeral home, a solemn and respectful ceremony will somehow relieve the pain and the grief caused by the loss of a loved one.