Blog Death Dictionary
Part 2 in 2-Part Series
Last week, in an effort to educate our clients and friends, we started working on a dictionary relative to death-related terms. Click here to read that post. Then, read the following, to learn even more great stuff about all things death.
Full Couch Casket
A casket with a cover that opens completely.
Funeral
A ceremony to honor the deceased. Funerals may or may not be religious events. We specialize in planning and presiding over memorial services for people of all tastes. We don’t do “one size fits all.” People are unique. So, why should every funeral service be identical?
Funeral Cortege or Procession
You’ve likely seen one. But have you ever inadvertently crashed a convoy of vehicles accompanying the hearse from the funeral service to the cemetery? May also apply to mourners following the casket as it is brought into and taken out of the church.
Funeral Monument or Marker
AKA as headstones, these are usually made of metal or stone. They include information such as the person’s name, date of birth and death, symbols and a tribute. When they stand upright, they can be called monuments.
Funerary Recess (Crypt)
A space in a wall built to receive a casket. The space is sealed and covered with a white marble plaque. This is usually engraved with an inscription about the deceased.
Grave
An excavation in the earth for the purpose of burying the deceased. Can also be used as an adjective, to describe something that is serious, such as someone’s grave.
Half Couch Casket
Only half of the casket cover opens, to display the preserved, possibly embalmed, body of the deceased, from the waist up. Rarely used, these were recently used for Aretha Franklin’s funeral.
Hearse
A vehicle built to carry a casket from the funeral to the cemetery. At Foothill Funeral & Cremation, we’re into vintage hearses. They have a very rich history.
Internment of Casket
The burial of a casket in a cemetery or the placement of it in a mausoleum, which is like an indoor cemetery. The casket is placed into a crypt (aka a funerary recess. This space in a wall is sealed and is typically covered with a marble plaque engraved with an inscription about the deceased.
Internment of Ashes (in an urn)
Sometimes, people prefer burying urns rather than storing them on the mantle at home. Other options for urns include in a columbarium. In cold climates, some cemeteries don’t bury ashes in the winter due to frozen ground. In sunny So Cal, where Foothill Funeral & Cremation is located, this isn’t an issue.
Inurnment
Not a misspelling of the similar word, this is an interment of an urn inside a niche in a columbarium. The niche often contains small objects, pictures, and artwork.
Mausoleum
A public or private building designed to preserve human remains. These are usually located in a permanent, above-ground final resting place.
Memorial Service
A commemorative event designed to help people remember a particular event or person. Often observed apart from the presence of the body’s remains. These events may include photographic displays.
Niche
A recessed spot in a wall or in a columbarium to place urns containing cremated remains and mementos.
Obituary
A notice published in a newspaper or online, announcing the death of a person. The pieces also often provides details about the funeral, lists survivors and offers details about the person’s life.
Plot
Unlike the narrative in a movie or play, this refers to a measured piece of land in a cemetery. Two or more family members pay to purchase such space for interment. A plot generally contains two or more graves.
Prearrangements (AKA Pre-Planning)
Contract between a person and funeral home with details to follow after that person dies. These can be pre-paid and include everything from music to flowers to instructions about viewing, cremation, and or embalming. You may not be aware that you do not have to pre-pay if you choose to pre-plan. We will keep your wishes on file and refer to them when the time comes. But take our word for it, planning it won’t hasten your demise.
Private Family Mausoleum
An above-ground structure, sometimes within a larger mausoleum, built to serve as a resting place for from two to twelve people, usually members of the same family.
Register: A book used to record the names of people who attend the funeral. Space is also provided to record other information: name, date of birth and death of the deceased, name of the celebrant, location of the final resting place, time and date of the funeral, list of flowers received, etc.
Stateroom/Parlor: Room in a funeral home where the family and loved ones assemble for viewing. Don’t confuse this with the front room in the Beverly Hillbillies. Parlor rooms harken to Victorian undertaking. Still, older mortuaries still use them. Foothill Funeral & Cremation offers two staterooms: one for people viewing and another for pet viewings.
Sympathy Card
Card sent to the family of the deceased to express condolences. But let’s take a guess; you probably already knew that one. Right? The question is, do you send them?
Urn
A container containing cremated remains (aka cremains).
Viewing/Visitation
An event enabling survivors and friends to see the body of the deceased in private, usually in a stateroom/parlor in the funeral home.
About Foothill Funeral & Cremation
Feel free to contact us now or at your time of need (626) 335-0615. Or, if you prefer, reach us by email or drop by our Glendora showroom. Our relationship with United Methodist Church is the perfect place for mourners to host funerals and memorials. You’ll love the grandiose yet intimate setting. We proudly serve the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Basin, Orange County and the Inland Empire. Finally, working in the mortuary industry since 1996, our reputation is one of quality, sincerity and trust. Please allow us to help you at your time of need or in the future. Call today (626) 335-0615 or contact us via email.
