GOSHEN — Buddhists walk with a casket across Yoder-Culp Funeral Home’s parking lot. They follow it to the crematory.
The monks then perform a ceremony before they push the casket into the crematory. They stay as the cremation starts, mourning their loss.
While not every family watches the start of a cremation, more families at Yoder-Culp are opting for it.
In the United States, cremations are now more popular than burials — 51 percent Americans chose cremation, according to the Cremation Association of North America.
Yoder-Culp Funeral Home in Goshen, which has owned a crematory since 2006, estimates 30 to 40 percent of families choose cremation there, said funeral director Casey Miller. In 2017, the staff completed 233 cremations, which includes services performed for other funeral homes.
“The more people see cremation being done, the more they are going to opt for it,” Miller said. “You do what you see growing up as a child.”
Cremation offers simplicity for families who live out of state, Miller said. Services can be held months later, rather than a week later.
Also, cremation can cost less than burials at Yoder-Culp. Cremation prices range from $2,700 to $7,500, while burial costs $7,500 or more, Miller said.
However, the cremation process requires more paperwork than burials, said Michael Weaver, funeral director intern.
HELPING FAMILIES
A one- to two-day process, cremation starts with choosing what the body is cremated in. Cardboard boxes are less expensive, but some families choose caskets to be more traditional, Miller said.
It takes several hours for the body to cremate. If family members forget to tell Miller the deceased had a pacemaker, Miller said he hears a pop from a small explosion as the body cremates.
The typical cremation temperature ranges from 1,400 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Weaver.
After cremation occurs, families can choose what to put the ashes in. Most families opt for an urn, but funeral home staff can put ashes into statues, jewelry, clocks and more, Weaver said. There are even companies that put ashes in fireworks or concrete reefs.
However, for both Miller and Weaver, cremation is more than a process — it’s a service they can offer to families in grief.
“Those first few days, those first steps can be so critical to helping (families) process and deal with the loss of a loved one,” Miller said. “You can’t be with them a week from now or two weeks from now, but if you can be with them for at least part of it. … That’s going to help them down that road a little bit easier.”
Miller and Weaver became funeral directors after friends and family told them they seemed like a good fit for the profession.
“I was looking for a new career path to support my family,” Weaver said. “After talking with pastors and family, they just kept saying ‘This would be a really good thing for you. I can really see you doing this.’”
Since Weaver started at Yoder-Culp, he’s noticed funeral directors do more than just funeral directing.
“We are wearing many hats, but we are not professionals of any of them,” Weaver said.
“Except for doing funerals,” Miller interjected.
“We sweep the floors, we clean the bathrooms. … We embalm, meet with families, direct funerals,” Weaver said.
And of course, they operate a crematory.