Funeral Questions

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT BODY DONATION

“I don’t need to worry about making plans at a funeral home because I am donating my body to science.”

We hear this statement from many people as we educate our community on the benefits of pre-planning for funeral and cemetery needs. While body donation is a noble and typically less expensive alternative to traditional burial, cremation, or cremation followed by burial, there are many restrictions and processes that families should be aware of before selecting this option.

Body Donation Information:

• Ensure you have registered in advance for the entity you would like to use for your body donation.
• Decide if you want to participate in a full-body or body part donation program. Full-body donations are for medical schools or research programs. Some for-profit donation businesses sell various parts of the bodies to medical device companies and researchers.
• Read any consent forms you are asked to sign.
• Make sure your family knows of your wishes. If your family calls a funeral home and agrees to embalming at the time of your death, body donation companies will not accept the donation.
• Even if you are a registered donor, you could be rejected at the time of your passing based on the cause and nature of your death. Your family will then be responsible for making arrangements and paying for the services of a funeral home.
• Most facilities will cremate any parts of your body remaining and return the cremated remains to your family. This could take months up to years. Depending on the research that was involved, there are times when no cremated remains will be available for the family.
• Some willed body programs require the family to pay a portion of the cost of shipping your body to the donation facility. They may also have to pay for the cremated remains to be returned to them.

Restrictions on Body Donation:

• Body donors must be free of infectious diseases. These include but are not limited to HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, Ebola, and Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease.
• Donor bodies typically must weigh less than 250 lbs.
• Violent deaths and suicides often preclude a person from body donation.
• Bodies that have had vital organs removed for transplant purposes are usually not accepted.
• Embalmed bodies are not suitable for body donation.

Body donation is admirable and a necessary part of the medical research in our world today. Just ensure you and your family are fully informed about the process.

Death  Certificate Information
By Jennine Morris, Death Certificate Specialist

DEATH CERTIFICATE TIMELINE

1.      Family gathers vital record information about the deceased

2.      Facts of Death Verification Form is prepared by the Funeral Director and signed by the family

3.      Medical Designation process is performed by the doctor

4.      Death certificates are released to the state and copies are ordered by the funeral home

5.      State of Texas processes the death certificate requests

6.      Death certificates are received at the funeral home

REQUIRED VITAL RECORD INFORMATION FOR DECEASED

• Full legal name
• Social security number (card is not required)
• City and State of Birth
• Parent Full Names (including Mother’s Maiden Name)
• Highest Level of Education
• Occupation and Job Industry
• Military Service (bring a copy of the DD214)

Things to Know from Desiree Dominguez
Rockwall and Royse City Location Manager

Here are some things all families need to know about funeral planning:

• It’s never too early to start gathering vital statistics of your loved such as social security number, parents' names, and mom’s maiden name.
• If your loved one is a veteran, do you know where the DD214 discharge papers are?
• Each family needs to decide on traditional burial, cremation, or cremation with burial? What’s your loved one's wishes? Do they want to be viewed?
• With cremation, is the family going to eventually bury the urn? If you would like to take the urn home, great, but what about years down the road? Are you going to leave your children with the burden of holding onto the urn forever?
• For a burial with a viewing, always bring a full set of clothes and undergarments. People think you don’t need pants, but you do.
• Try to think of how you want to be celebrated and let your loved ones know. Death is inevitable, it will happen so it does not hurt to start talking about it with your loved ones.
• It never hurts to start preplanning at any age.

FAQs from Jonathan Chance
Rowlett Location Manager

What to expect in an arrangement Conference? What does the family need to bring?

A conversation on how to celebrate the life of their loved one. We will be obtaining information required for the death certificate, pictures for the Celebration of Life, personal items that can be set out for display.

What should my family discuss before my death?

As the holidays begin to arrive, it's the perfect time to share what you want for your celebration of life with those closest to you. Likewise, what are the wishes of those closest to you? The most difficult conversations are with families that have no clue about the wishes of their loved one. Great starter questions: For closure, would your family like to have the opportunity to gather and have an open casket if possible? Do you have a cemetery or location where your life would be memorialized? Do you have a family member that has your banking information or social media login access? Are you and your family member's life insurance and beneficiary listings current?

What are some misconceptions about our industry?

The first misconception is that it's better that you eliminate any funeral/memorial services, so your family won't grieve as much. The facts are well documented that bringing your community together, be it a large group or a small family gathering, creates an environment for the best possible grieving process to develop within your family and friends' lives.

The second misconception is that when you die, you'll never want to be viewed. Do you have to be embalmed? No, you don't. However, it is a requirement by the funeral home in most cases when you have a public viewing. The funeral home can prepare your loved one for a private family viewing if you don't embalm. This family time can be before cremation or burial.

Anything else you want people to know?

Many people hate to talk about death. Please know, talking about your funeral won't make you dead. You and your family's knowledge empowers them to know what you want if something should happen.

Cemetery Common Questions

The answers below are here because these are some commonly-asked questions. If yours isn't listed, we invite you to call us. We're here to provide the information you need, when you need it.