Veteran’s Memorial Services

This month, as we celebrate our nation’s independence on July 4th, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the men and women who answered our nation’s call to serve. Their sacrifices embody the ideals Americans hold so dear. Because they have proven their devotion to their fellow citizens and to a grateful nation, we owe them our respect and devotion in return. At Foothill Funeral & Cremation, we are happy to offer special veteran’s memorial services.


Families trust us to take care of their veterans

We are known for our compassionate, caring and thoroughly professional staff, and have lots of experience planning military services. Whether your family chooses cremation or burial, we will be proud to take care of every related detail to make sure your service member is appropriately honored.


We are proud to honor those who served

Our professional staff takes pride in caring for veterans and their families. We consider it small our way of expressing gratitude for all that they have done. We take care of all the details involved in providing the veteran in your life, planning and hosting deeply meaningful and honoring ceremonies.

Foothill Funeral & Cremation Service can:
  • Complete applications for veterans’ benefits, including Military Honors, Presidential Memorial Certificate and veteran memorial markers or headstones.
  • Confirm and coordinate existing paid pre-plan funding benefits which may cover expenses deemed ineligible by the Veterans Administration.
  • Coordinate necessary documentation provided by family to request honors.
  • Coordinate with national and/or state veterans’ cemeteries.

 


Included Veteran’s Memorial Services

  • The services of an experienced, professional funeral director and support staff
  • Transfer of the deceased and professional care
  • Cremation services, if applicable
  • Use of our mortuary facilities and staff assistance for a visitation or gathering
  • Funeral or memorial ceremony
  • Use of automotive equipment
  • Online interactive memorial website
  • Additional personalization options, including specialized engraving, a moving tribute video

Veteran’s Funeral Services Eligibility

In short, the guidelines for eligibility include honorable discharge. A more detailed list of those service men and women who may apply for, and receive veterans’ burial benefits, with full military honors if they choose would include:

  • Military members on active duty or in the Selected Reserve
  • Those who served on active duty and departed under conditions other than dishonorable
  • Former military members who completed at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service in the Selected Reserve and departed under conditions other than dishonorable
  • Discharged military members from the Selected Reserve due to a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty
  • If you have any questions about eligibility for yourself or a family member, call us at (626) 335-0615, contact the staff of one of our locations or complete an online contact form.

About Foothill Funeral & Cremation

Named San Gabriel Valley “Reader’s Choice” for 2017, Foothill Funeral & Cremation Services has a beautiful showroom and offices located at 402 West Baseline in Glendora. We proudly serve the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Basin, Orange County and the Inland Empire. With years of experience in the mortuary industry, we have worked hard to build a reputation of quality, sincerity and trust. We would be honored to help you at your time of need or in the future. Call today (626) 335-0615 or drop by our showroom.

Always Go to the Funeral

Unless we make a concerted effort to focus on what really matters, our hectic lives can lead us to sacrifice the priority on the altar of the urgent.

Death is Inconvenient

Little about death is convenient. And funerals are no exception. Set up to accommodate family, clergy and venue availability, ceremonies are often held in the morning or afternoon, on a weekday. Even evening and weekend events can create difficulties for mourners who have unconventional schedules. As a result, it can be all too easy to skip the funeral, with plans to offer some “grand gesture” later. But people usually forget such plans. So, take it from us: you should always go to the funeral.

Go to the Funeral

  • If you know about the funeral, you should attend.

If you didn’t know the deceased, you probably won’t hear about the service. So, if you get wind of the event, take it as a sign that the family would value your presence. Despite their grief, they somehow managed to get the message to you about the service. You, in turn, should do your best to show up.

  • In the grand scheme of things, most excuses are weak.

While you may have a legitimate explanation for your absence, in most cases, nothing trumps death. And the window to express your condolences is relatively narrow. So, do your best to shift things to make the effort.

  • Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Most of us struggle to find the right words when someone dies. We also feel we should do something or say something more – although we don’t know what would suffice. Eliminate stress by telling the deceased’s loved ones you are sorry for their loss. Doing so is a simple yet elegant solution.

  • Funeral attendance helps with grief.

Even if you did not consider the deceased a close friend, your acquaintance with him or her must have been significant enough to earn you an invitation to the memorial. Memorial services offer closure. You may even find yourself tearing up when portions of the ceremony remind you of other loved ones lost.

  • Your attendance will mean more to the family than they may ever express.

Even if they are unable to explain why your presence matters, family and friends will appreciate the time and effort you sacrificed to attend their loved ones’ memorial. To them, after all, this event is second to none. So, they won’t easily forget the fact you made attendance a priority.

“In going to funerals, I’ve come to believe that while I wait to make a grand heroic gesture, I should just stick to the small inconveniences that let me share in life’s inevitable, occasional calamity.”

~Deidre Sullivan, Blogger

With a beautiful showroom and offices located at 402 West Baseline in Glendora, Foothill Funeral & Cremation proudly serves the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Basin, Orange County and the Inland Empire. With years of experience in the mortuary industry, we have worked hard to build a reputation of quality, sincerity and trust. We would be honored to help you at your time of need or in the future. Call today (626) 335-0615 or drop by our showroom.

Foothill Funeral & Cremation Adds Covina Location

While Foothill Funeral & Cremation operates a beautiful showroom in the heart of Glendora, we have recently partnered with Sacred Heart Chapel in Covina and have moved our personal residence from Azusa to the City of Covina. We love having connections with so many cities in the San Gabriel Valley. Although our new city is home to nearly 50,000 people, it still has a small-town feel. We love the sunny climate, breathtaking mountain views, quaint specialty shops, major retail outlets, award-winning restaurants, and bustling downtown.

City of Covina History:

  • Originally contained within the homelands of the indigenous Tongva people.
  • Officially founded in 1882 and incorporated in 1901.
  • Named by a young engineer who came up with the idea by combining the words cove and vine.
  • Citrus groves blanketed the city which morphed into aa major citrus producer. By 1909, in fact, Covina was the third largest orange producer in the world.
  • Eventually, orange groves gave way to residential homes.
  • The May Day celebration in 1921, “The Spirit of Summer,” included a floral parade and Maypole dances.
  • “One mile square and all there,” is the city slogan, chosen from 364 entries.
  • The Covina Chamber of Commerce sponsored entries in 1933 and 1936 in the Tournament of Roses Parade and at the Los Angeles County Fair.
  • The chamber produced brochures and hired a hostess in the late 1940’s to welcome new residents to Covina.
  • By 1948, 7,000 telephones had been installed in the area because business was booming.

We are Here to Help

Whether you live and work in Glendora, Azusa, Covina or elsewhere in the LA basin, Inland Empire or San Gabriel Valley, we are proud to offer memorial and answers to your funeral and memorial-related questions. We will answer any questions you may have, without obligation. Foothill Funeral & Cremation is one of very few funeral homes that are certified by the Green Burial Council. With a beautiful showroom and offices located at 402 West Baseline in Glendora, we proudly serves the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Basin, Orange County and the Inland Empire. With years of experience in the mortuary industry, we have worked hard to build a reputation of quality, sincerity and trust. We would be honored to help you at your time of need or in the future. Call today (626) 335-0615 or drop by our showroom.

Funeral Checklist

Most of us rely on lists for everything from what to pack before a trip to which groceries to buy before preparing a meal. But have you ever considered the importance of preparing a “to do” list for funeral plans? After suffering the loss of a loved one, your grief could leave you feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of arranging burial or cremation as well as s a funeral or memorial service. To help, we have put together a checklist. Fill it out now, before your time of need. This way, once you are faced with the death of someone you love, you will be able to rely on the list you completed while you were at your best.

Checklist for What to Do When a Loved One Dies


        • Notify Authorities. If the death occurs outside of a hospital or nursing home, you should call to notify authorities of the death. Authorities will call the coroner. 

       

        • Notify close relatives and friends. Although the police will notify next-of-kin, other relatives and friends should be alerted.

       

          • Call the funeral home. To reach Foothill Funeral & Cremation, call (626) 335-0615.

         

        • Schedule a time to meet with the funeral director to finalize the plans. Foothill Funeral & Cremation Services will work with you according to your personal preferences, whether you prefer to do everything in person, over the phone, via email or even through text messages.

       

        • Discuss who will be responsible for funeral expenses for billing purposes. Did the deceased name an executor for the estate? If so, he or she could handle this responsibility. But the family could choose to divide the responsibility between family members.

       

        • If applicable, give the executor a copy of the will. Safety deposit boxes are opened during estate settlement, which is often long after the funeral. In such a case, relevant funeral planning documents would be of no help to the executor.

       

        • Gather vital statistics for the death certificate: parents’ names (including middle initials), decedent’s social security number and date of birth, their place of work (name and address) and occupation.

       

        • If applicable, cancel telephone and utilities services, as well as newspaper and magazine deliveries.

       

        • Find new homes for affected pets.

       

        • Decide where obituary and memorial information should appear. Contact those outlets.

       

        • Choose the type of service and final resting place.  

       

        • Select a casket or cremation-urn.

       

        • Pick the type of service: religious, military, non-denominational, or fraternal

       

        • Alert Pallbearers

       

        • Locate places to order music, flowers, scripture or other readings

       

        • Figure out whether the deceased wants donations in lieu of flowers. If so, assign a charitable recipient.

       

      • Select speakers and prepare eulogies.
      • Contact your funeral director for additional information.

      Include Foothill on your Funeral Checklist

      At Foothill Funeral & Cremation, we are pleased to answer any questions you may have, without obligation. We are proud to be one of very few funeral homes that are certified by the Green Burial Council. With a beautiful showroom and offices located at 402 West Baseline in Glendora, Foothill Funeral & Cremation proudly serves the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Basin, Orange County and the Inland Empire. With years of experience in the mortuary industry, we have worked hard to build a reputation of quality, sincerity and trust. We would be honored to help you at your time of need or in the future. Call today (626) 335-0615 or drop by our showroom.

Traditional Funerals

Although we often blog about funky funeral trends, Foothill Funeral & Cremation Services adapts to whatever style our clients prefer. And that includes traditional funerals, memorials and receptions. In fact, highly liturgical services make up a large portion of our mortuary portfolio. What matters are the tastes and preferences of the deceased as well as his or her family and friends. So, don’t feel pressure to find Twitter hashtags and Pinterest boards to decide which flowers to order, or what types of music to download for your loved one’s service. The best decision you can make as you plan a memorial is to honor your loved one’s legacy.

What Marks a Traditional Funeral?

Since most people will plan a funeral service just once or twice over the course of their entire lives, the experience can be daunting. So, it’s natural to feel apprehensive, uncertain or even fearful about related decisions. This blog post is meant to give you permission to relax and plan whatever celebration of life you desire. For ideas about thoroughly modern memorials, click here or here.  If you would prefer to go the traditional route, here are a few guidelines to give you an idea of a handful of typical traditional memorials:


Traditional Jewish Service

Jewish law requires bodies to be buried within a day or as soon as practical after death, with exceptions. Depending on the degree of orthodoxy of the deceased, the rules around cremation may vary. For Orthodox Jews, cremation is not acceptable and the body should be buried, intact, in the ground. The funeral consists of prayers, a eulogy, and the reading of psalms. Rabbis and guests recite traditionally prayers, such as the Memorial Prayer, called “El Maleh Rachamim,” and the Mourner’s Blessing, called “Mourner’s Kaddish.


Traditional Catholic Service

After someone dies, a priest should be contacted to deliver last rites and to be consulted during the funeral planning process. Historically, the Catholic Church did not support cremation. However, recently, Catholics consider cremation acceptable. Catholics hold funerals in Catholic churches, Catholic assisted living or care facilities, or in the chapels at Catholic cemeteries. Our new venue, Sacred Heart, was formerly a Catholic Chapel, but is currently non-denominational, so appropriate for any type of service. Priests lead the Funeral Mass, and may also lead the funeral liturgy (service). But in cases where a priest is unavailable, a deacon or layperson with knowledge of the liturgy and traditions may lead the service.


Traditional Christian Funerals

These vary in style as much as the different denominations they represent. From Catholics to Mormons to Lutherans, Christianity has inspired many religious sects, each with its own emphasis and interpretation of the Bible. Although these religions hold slightly different beliefs, they follow the same principles and share similar funeral rituals. But, in general, pastors or experienced laypeople lead memorials, funerals or celebrations or life. Recently, the Church embraces cremation as readily as embalming and burial. Christian funerals feature music. Mourners sing hymns or contemporary worship songs with piano, organ, or stringed instrument accompaniments.



Hindu Memorials

Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world, estimated to have nearly one billion followers. Unlike other religions, Hinduism has no founder and no common creed or doctrine. In Hinduism, the body remains at the home until it is cremated, which is usually within 24 hours of death. Mourners scatter ashes at a sacred body of water. People offer flowers, but no one brings food. Hindu funerals always feature an open casket so guests can view the body. The Hindu priest and senior family members conduct the ceremony.


Whether you prefer a traditional or trendy funeral or memorial, we would be happy to help you plan and carry out the service. Foothill Funeral & Cremation is one of very few funeral homes that are certified by the Green Burial Council. With a beautiful showroom and offices located at 402 West Baseline in Glendora, Foothill Funeral & Cremation proudly serves the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Basin, Orange County and the Inland Empire. With years of experience in the mortuary industry, we have worked hard to build a reputation of quality, sincerity and trust. We would be honored to help you at your time of need or in the future. Call today (626) 335-0615 or drop by our showroom.