Funeral Services

The funeral service industry includes companies that arrange funerals and ready the deceased for interment. Funeral establishments conduct wakes, provide transportation of the deceased, as well as sell caskets and other funeral goods such as urns or wreaths. Burial rights are also included the services offered by the funeral service industry. The industry includes funeral homes combined with crematories, but excludes singular crematoriums.

Funeral homes usually have large investments in facilities, hearses, and limousines.

Funeral homes organize services aligned with the requests and wishes of the families and the deceased. When the deceased is first brought to the funeral home, one of the services is to prepare the body for burial as well as the visitation of family members and friends. In addition, the funeral home may take care of and required paperwork, permits, and other specifics like making arrangements with a cemetery, and submitting obituaries to the media.

If visitation is a part of a funeral service, the funeral home designates a specific large area where family and friends can gather. In services where a visitation occurs, the funeral and burial usually follow within a short time period. In some instances, an individual may choose to take advantage of a funeral home’s service to pre-arrange their funeral, and as such the funeral home works with this individual beforehand to make sure everything is prepared.

In the event that the deceased needs to be transported elsewhere, the funeral industry may provide the additional service of preparing the remains for transportation, which includes the remains being shipped in a casket that needs to be strapped into an air tray or a combination unit for the duration of travel.