Perhaps you’ve heard a friend or neighbour has died, or wish to check the date and time of a funeral.

Here are some ways to find out.

1. PRESS - Not all next of kin choose to publish the details, but to see if they have, check the Death Announcements sections of the paper of the towns of the place of residence and home town. For those in the Reach group, such as Grimsby Live, these will also be published on the Funeral Notices website. Some councils may publish details of public health funerals in the press, or on their website.
2. OBITUARY SEARCH – A Google search may take you to an announcement on an obituary website, or turn up a memorial page set up for the individual.​
3. FUNERAL HOME WEBSITE or SOCIAL MEDIA - Some funeral homes post obituaries or details of upcoming services. Three local examples are: Lincolnshire Coop’s obituaries page includes service details, Jason Threadgold’s which details the press announcements on the website, and Near & Near who publish the notices on Facebook. Links are below.
4. CREMATORIUM DIARY – Some regions have an online crematorium diary that the public can access – as in the video for GrimsbyCrematorium. ‘Unavailable’ may mean the time is still bookable, is reserved for maintenance or meetings, or the funeral is private.

Still can’t find the service details? One of these may be why.

1. PRIVATE FUNERAL - The next of kin does not wish service details to be published. There may be a service or committal, but it is only for those personally invited.
2. UNATTENDED DIRECT CREMATION – Also known as a funeral without service, so there are no attendees. There may be a celebration of life or memorial service at a later time, or even before the cremation as mourners may gather to say goodbye and wave their person off.
3. PRIVATE CHAPEL – Some funeral homes have an in-house chapel where services take place, such as before cremation or committal at the crematorium, or the burial.
4. DELAY – In the U.K., services usually take place 2-3 weeks after death, assuming there is no inquest or coroner’s report, which could add several weeks. So it could be that arrangements may not yet be made for the service.
5. BEQUEATHMENT – If the deceased left their body to science, they will be transferred to their local medical school. It may be that a memorial service will follow a time after the donation.
6. REPATRIATION – The person may be repatriated to another country, or part of this country, so a funeral may be impractical to coordinate gathering family.

 
LINKS
Funeral Notices
https://funeral-notices.co.uk/national/death-notices
Lincolnshire Cooperative Funerals
https://www.lincolnshire.coop/funeral/obituaries
Jason Threadgold
https://www.jasonthreadgoldfuneraldirector.com/upcoming-services/
Near & Near
https://www.facebook.com/Near-Near-Undertakers-Ltd/

People sometimes have questions about cremation, either because they have heard things that worry them, or are curious, as it's not something that is spoken about much.
 
Below is a link to a short film of the cremation process.
If you are recently bereaved, or your grief is still raw, consider if this is the right time to watch it.

Before you watch, it’s worth knowing that this is a no-frills old US crematory, without commentary, so you still may have questions.
 
I'm always happy to answer questions. I’m ‘Death Positive’ – I believe people are empowered by knowing, and that death, dying and bereavement should be talked about, so people are equipped with information and choices.

As the area’s Coffin Club ‘Celebrant Plus’, I’m here to advise and signpost anyone in the local community about funerary issues; you don’t have to be arranging a funeral or have me leading a ceremony to chat to me.
 
Likewise, your funeral director and the staff at the crematorium are there to help.
Don't be afraid to ask them. There's nothing weird or morbid about wanting to know what happens, and it may allay any fears.
 
I was probably a bit scared of the idea of cremation and held some myths myself, until I witnessed it in full. I was honoured, when I first started, to be given permission to watch the full procedure for one lady (including taking regular peeps into the cremator to see what happened to her body, as you’ll see in the video).
 
Pre-Viewing Notes:
 
The set up back of house varies considerably, from modern shiny spacious crematory rooms with large steel chargers, and a sequence of stations for processing the remains, to a more functional affair in a smaller space.
 
There is legislation that regulates administrative and practical procedures to ensure public health & safety and dignity in dealing with the deceased, cremation, and ashes return.

A little slip follows the deceased and is checked at each stage from the moment the coffin or person (or pet) arrives by hearse or private ambulance.

When the curtains close (if it's a funeral service, and you've requested that), nothing happens immediately. Forget what you've seen in films about seeing a coffin slide right through the doors into flames!

Often there's a cool room, anteroom or corridor to the crematory area. Staff move the coffin onto a trolley. That may be cremated straight away, or there may be a short wait till later that same day.

It depends on several factors including the number of cremator units, how busy that day is, coffin or shroud material, and some characteristics of the deceased that may affect unit efficiency, so the order of cremation may be optimised. Different body compositions, different diseases etc affect the time it takes, and the temperature of the unit.
 
Rear of house, there are trained staff who operate the crematory. For some faiths, a family member may be there to witness the charging procedure.

Only one person is cremated at a time in each cremator.
Cremation of an adult human takes about 85-90 minutes.

The remains are raked into a receptacle underneath before further processing.
Metal components that can be recycled are then removed in a machine that separates the remains. These usually go to raise funds for charity.

The remains then go into a cremulator which reduces them to ashes (or cremains).
For children, or body parts, there may be minimal or no ashes. Likewise for a small pet funeral.
Otherwise, the ashes then go into a container for collection by the funeral director or other person authorised to collect or scatter them.

Some people request that the crematorium scatter the ashes. The staff will record where and give you a map.
For people who wish to have them returned, they can then choose whether to transfer the ashes to a decorative urn, have an ashes interment ceremony, or scatter them at a place significant to the deceased, such as a beauty spot, or at sea.
Some retain a little to be made into jewellery or paperweights.
 
That’s just a very brief summary. If there’s anything else you’d like to know, or other topics you’d like covering (video tours of crematoria, or interviews with staff?), let me know.
 
Dx
 
The 5-minute cremation video.
https://www.cultofweird.com/death/cremation-of-human-body-video/
 
The contact for bereavement services at Grimsby Crematorium. You'll also find the link for pet funerals at Treasured Memories. If it’s urgent, call. If it’s a general enquiry, send an email.
Bereavement services | NELC (nelincs.gov.uk)
 
Link to cremation FAQs:
https://www.cremation.org.uk/Frequently-Asked-Questions
 
Crematorium Regulations:
cremregs (iccm-uk.com)

Coffin Club and Celebrant Plus Directory
coffinclub.co.uk/

Local Ashes Jewellery
coastalsilver.co.uk/pages/ashes-jewellery

#funeral #cremation #ashes
#funeralcelebrant #Lincolnshire
#Lincolnshirecelebrant
#DeathPositive
#funeralmyths

Hurrah, I got to see the piece that was in Funeral Service Journal, thanks to a kind funeral director sending it to me.

​In hindsight, I'd probably change some of what I said, but oh well!

*snaffles celebratory Ferrero Rocher*
​
​Dx

How lovely!

I'm featured in April's Funeral Director Monthly magazine, published by the NAFD (one of the main trade bodies for funeral directors).

Here's the screenshot if you'd like to read it.
​
​Dx