Earlier this year, a close friend of mine passed away. This sweet woman was incredibly unique. Besides adoring vintage clothing, she always had extremely short hair. After her death, her son wanted to plan a funeral service with her unique style in mind. So, he immediately started working with the helpful staff at a respected funeral home in our hometown. After relaying his desires to the professional employees at the funeral home, my friend’s son decided to omit a viewing on the night before the funeral. Instead, he had the funeral home staff bring his mother’s body to the church two hours before the funeral service. He also gave anyone who wanted to speak at the funeral service an opportunity. On this blog, I hope you will discover the wonderful ways the staff at a funeral home can help you plan a unique funeral for a loved one.
Over the last few decades, cremation has become a more popular option for the disposition of bodies after death. Sometimes the decedent chooses the process, and other times the choice is that of the remaining family or friends. No matter who makes the cremation decision, there are often questions from other family members. One of the most pressing questions is how you know the ashes you receive back are those of your loved one. Fortunately, this is an easy question to answer with the following information.
Confirmation of Identification Starts in The Beginning
Funeral homes and cremation facilities take careful steps to ensure the integrity of the process and the identification of the body and subsequent cremains. There is a carefully documented chain of custody, control, transfer, and disposition of the remains.
In most cases, the funeral home identifies the deceased before cremation, and this identification follows the body throughout the cremation. The exception to this rule is when the crematory receives a body that has only been identified as a Jane or John Doe by medical personnel.
Staff establishes identification in several different ways. Staff will confirm the identity by checking the paperwork and records submitted by the coroner or hospital they receive the body from. The facility may also ask family, friends, or an authorized agent to identify the body at their facility visually.
An Identification Number is Assigned
Once identification is confirmed, they assign an identification number that remains with the body throughout the cremation process. Sometimes this number is stamped into a metal disk that stays with the body, and other facilities use barcodes printed onto non-combustible materials.
Throughout the cremation process, this tag or barcode always remains with the body. Identification is checked repeatedly against the paperwork and records maintained by the crematory at numerous points. Some of these points include the following:
With this many points of identification and required documentation, the chances of the cremains not being your loved one is something families should not worry about.
Learn more about cremation services.
Share17 January 2023
