Key Cremation Service Terminology

Losing a loved one is always hard, but it can feel a little easier if you do a little planning. One way to better plan for cremation services in Sterling, IL is to learn important cremation terminology including the following: 

• Bereaved: The deceased’s loved ones or immediate family.  
• Burial Certificate: A legal document authorizing burial. The same documents apply to cremations, and it made by your local government.  
• Death Certificate: A document proving the cause of death, generally issued by the deceased’s doctor.  
• Columbarium: A wall with niches or holes in which cremation urns are housed.  
• Committal Service: A service in which the body is buried or interred.  
• Cremains: Another word for cremated remains.  
• Crematory: The furnace in which bodies are cremated. It can also refer to the building that houses the furnace.  
• Death Notice: An article or newspaper section announcing someone’s death and providing funeral or memorial details.  
• Embalm: Preserving a dead body by running preservative fluids through the arteries and veins.  
• Eulogy: A speech praising, remembering and celebrating the deceased’s life.  
• Exhume: Digging up the remains of someone who was already buried.  
• Flower Car: The car or vehicle used to transport the flowers from the church and/or cemetery to the funeral home.  
• Funeral Director: The man or woman who works with the bereaved to plan and execute a funeral service and all accompanying details. Generally, funeral directors maintain or run funeral homes.  
• Funeral Spray: A floral tribute traditionally given to the bereaved at a funeral.  
• Grave Liner: A wooden, metal or concrete casing that holds the casket in the ground. Grave liners help prevent the ground around the grave from sinking for safety and help keep the grass above the grave level as the earth settles for aesthetics.  
• Pallbearers: Family, friends, or religious members that help carry the casket.  
• Memorial Service: A service held to honor the deceased when the body is not present.  
• Mortuary: Another word for a funeral home.  
• Obituary: A death notice in a newspaper or on a website that gives a small biography of the deceased and often includes a photo.  
• Plot: A piece of land, usually owned by an individual or a family, that’s reserved for two or more graves.  
• Reposing Room: A room in a funeral home that stores the body until the burial or funeral.  
• Vault: Almost synonymous with grave liner, but vaults tend to be more expensive. Vaults are usually made of wood, metal or concrete. 
• Viewing: The time at which friends, family or funeral goers can view the casket.  

If you want to learn more about cremation terminology or Sterling, IL cremation services, Schilling Funeral Home & Cremation is here to help. Please pay us a visit at 702 1st Ave Sterling, IL 61081, or give us a call at (815) 626-1131 for more information on what we can do for you.