Monthly Archives: January 2021

How to Choose the Right Cremation Urn for After a Military Service

Finding the perfect cremation urn after a loved one’s military cremation service in Clarksville, TN can be overwhelming. From trying to make sure you honor the deceased and their military service in the best way possible and taking care to stay in budget, not to manage dealing with grief, it can be hard to find the right cremation urn.

The following tips can go a long way to help you find the right cremation urn for your lost military servicemember:

Put the Deceased First – Not everyone will have a specific plan laid out for after their death but be sure to do exactly what your lost loved one laid out if he or she did so. If there is no plan in place, use your best judgement as to what he or she would have wanted. Was the deceased a big gardener, or a fan of protecting the environment? If so, you might want to consider an eco-friendly or garden urn. Was your lost loved one a big golfer? Look into golf-themed urns for a fun twist.
Think About Urn Use– There are different kinds of urns for different uses. For example, if you’re going to scatter the ashes, you can get a scattering urn. Or if you are going to cast the ashes from an airplane, you need a special airline safe urn. If the urn is going to be displayed outside, you need to be sure you get an outdoor safe urn.
Don’t Forget About Material – There are tons of different urn materials including wood, metal, crystal, natural stone, and even glass. You can narrow down your options by considering what material your loved one would value the most, and what material works with what you want the urn to do. For example, an outdoor or buried urn needs to be a different material than an indoor display urn.
Consider Urn Art– Urns can be made as beautiful as any piece or art, and they can range in style from painted and colored to specially molded and shaped. Art urns are also ideal for display, as they lend a unique and personalized air to the memorial.

Size is Vital – Urn size varies, and you should consider size when shopping for an urn. If you’re going to display the urn, it should be able to fit in the place in which you want to display it. For example, if you want to place the urn on your fireplace mantle you need to be sure the base of the urn is the right size to fit on the mantle space. Larger urns are better when placed low to the ground, or even on the ground. Be aware of the space and the urn size when shopping.

If you would like more assistance looking for or buying an urn for after your loved one’s military Clarksville, TN cremation service, Sykes Funeral Home & Crematory is here for you. We offer a range of services designed to help you during your time of loss. Please give us a call today to learn more.

How to Act in a Funeral Home

Key Takeaways:

A common tradition when visiting someone who has died is to bring flowers or a charitable donation in their memory.
When somebody dies, it is usually appropriate to offer sympathy to the deceased’s friends and family.
To show respect to a grieving family, avoid the family or receiving line, turn your phone to silent, bring overactive children with you if they can be respectful, and don’t stay too long.

It can be hard to know how to act at a funeral home in Clarksville, TN, but it’s vital that you are up to date on what personal, religious or cultural considerations you need to make for the deceased’s family and friends. If you need a bit more guidance on what to do and what not to do in a funeral home, keep reading.

Be sure to do the following:

Find out the Gift Preferences:

Its tradition to bring some sort of gift for the deceased or the family. Usually flowers are the best choice, but sometimes the family requests charitable donations in lieu of flowers. Always be sure to include a note or a signature so the knows who the gift is from.
Offer Sympathy:

It’s almost always appropriate to offer sympathy to the deceased’s friends and family. Oftentimes a simple “I’m sorry for your loss” is all you need. Always remember to be respectful, but feel free to offer your own personalized condolences.
Sign the Book:

The registry book may seem silly, but it can be an important way for the family to look back and enjoy who came to honor their lost loved one. Include your name and relationship to the deceased for easy identification in the future.
Reach Out:

Don’t be afraid to reach out to the family after the funeral. A simple phone call may go a long way in comforting them in their difficult time.
Inquire About the Dress Code:

Black is the classic funeral color, but sometimes the event or the family calls for a different look. If you’re unable to discover the family’s wishes, dress conservatively and avoid bright colors.

Be sure not to:

Avoid the Family or Receiving Line: A quick hug, hello, or “sorry for your loss” goes a long way with a grieving family. Never skip the receiving line, even if it’s long.
Leave Your Cell Phone On: Turn your phone to silent! Also, never check your messages during the funeral service. It can wait.
Bring Overactive Children: Loud or disturbing children have no place in a funeral home. It’s all right to bring the kids if they understand how to be respectful, but if not, leave them with a sitter.
Overstay Your Welcome: Don’t feel like you have to stick around the funeral home for too long. Sometimes a quick condolence is enough.
Stifle Your Emotions: Its ok to laugh and cry at a funeral home. The deceased’s life was filled with emotion, so it makes sense for his or her funeral to be too.

What’s considered proper etiquette is changing all the time. This includes funeral home etiquette. With all the changing rules, it’s hard to know what to do. Sykes Funeral Home & Crematory is here to help if you want to learn more about Clarksville, TN funeral homes and proper etiquette. You can visit us or give us a call today for more information about what we can do for you in your time of loss.

What Do You Do After Veteran Cremation Services?

Veteran’s cremation services in Clarksville, TN come with a lot of options. From direct to classic cremations, memorial services, or funerals, to whether or not you want a fancy casket and save money on cremation, there are lots of different ways you can make your lost veteran’s cremation unique.

You can also make a cremation unique after the actual cremation is over. There are lots of classic options after cremation including scattering, inurnment, burial, entombment and more. However, you can also get even more eclectic and unique to your loved by doing things like:

Order A Diamond – While expensive, this memorial will really last forever. Special companies can extract carbon particles from the cremated ashes and grow a real diamond. You can personalize the color, shape or cut to make the diamond even more unique for the deceased.
Create Glass Art – Cremation ashes can be transformed into glass with the help of professional glass blowers. These artists can take small portions of the deceased’s ashes and create glass art in a range of shapes, colors, and sizes. You can display the art at home on your mantel, or somewhere else special.
Shoot Off Fireworks – Help your loved one go out with a bang with a fireworks display. Some pyrotechnics companies help you scatter your loved one’s ashes by placing them inside fireworks. These incorporated ashes scatter when the fireworks go off, making for a memorable end to a memorial service.
Commission Jewelry – Keep your loved one close by placing ashes in cremation or memorial jewelry. People have been placing memories of deceased loved ones in jewelry for centuries. However, modern technology makes it easy to order personalized pieces like lockets, pendants, rings and more filled with small portions of ashes. You can order pre-made pieces online or have a jewelry maker custom make a piece for you.
Plant a Tree – Really go green with cremation, and help your deceased loved one continue to give back long after he or she is gone. Buy a biodegradable urn that’s specially made to be buried without any harmful impact on the environment. Plant the Bio Urn with some ashes and seeds inside. The ashes will help nourish the seed until it grows into a beautiful tree people can enjoy for generations to come.

These are just a few of the many, many options for veteran cremation services. If you need more ideas, think about your lost veteran and their interests or unique qualities. Take inspiration from them, to make their cremated remains memorial as respectful and special as it can be.

Sykes Funeral Home & Crematory is here to help if you want to learn more about what to do with veteran’s remains post cremation, or about cremation services in general. We offer a range of Clarksville, TN cremation services and have years of industry experience we would be happy to put at your disposal. Give us a call today for more information on what we can do for you in your time of loss.

Funeral Home Traditions from Around the World

There are tons of funeral homes all across the globe that have their own unique, memorable and honorable traditions. Funeral homes in Clarksville, TN have lots of traditions, too, each one offering comfort and honor in the time of grief and loss. While we may never get to experience these other traditions from around the world it’s a good idea to learn about these traditions as they can inspire our funeral homes with creative and unique ways to honor our deceased and ease our grief. Here are some of the many:

South Korea Departed Beads – South Koreans have started using loved one’s cremated ashes to make colorful beads that they then display in decorative dishes or glass containers. Though the beads can range in color, they are most commonly pink, blue, or black. This practice has become more popular in recent years as cemeteries are filling, and South Koreans need new ways to honor the dead.
Japan Ruriden Columbarium – Tokyo is one of the densest urban areas in the world, making it hard for the Japanese to find places to bury their dead. The colorful and high tech Ruriden Columbarium is a solution to this problem. It features thousands of crystal Buddhas, each representing a recently deceased. The ashes are interred in the columbarium for 33 years before being moved to a communal burial site beneath the temple, allowing people to grieve in the traditional way before making space for others to do the same.
Italy Capsula Mundi – The Capsula Mundi is an eco-friendly burial container that uses cremains to fertilize and seed a new tree. The Latin name refers to a proverb that states, “transformations of our body between the mineral, vegetal and animal worlds: the three key elements of life on Earth.” Italians are embracing this new tradition as a way to remind everyone that death is not forever, as the death will breed new life in the form of a tree.
Tibet Sky Burials – The ground in Tibet is much too rocky for burial, so instead Tibetans lay out their deceased as offerings to the local giant griffon vultures. Though this sounds grotesque, it is a normal part of life for Tibetans, and is a main part of their Buddhist beliefs as it is said that this practice makes it easier for the dead to move onto their next life.
Ghana Fantasy Coffins – In Ghana, most people believe that life continues after death, and therefore funerals should be celebratory. To embody this idea, the Ga people make fantasy coffins in unusual shapes and colors. Each coffin is one of a kind, and usually represents the deceased’s life or career in some way.

If you want to learn more about Clarksville, TN funeral homes and traditions, please reach out to Sykes Funeral Home & Crematory by visiting us or giving us a call today. After all, these are just a few of the many funeral home cultures and traditions from around the world.

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