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Funeral Services and Ceremonies

A funeral represents a purposeful opportunity to reflect on the meaning of a life that has been lived and to determine the impact of that meaning for the family and friends. There is no single proper funeral service. It is a time for human sharing in its deepest sense. You and the ones you love are at the very center of the process, and the choices you make will determine its significance for you. As you participate in the planning of the funeral service, you help create a meaningful experience for everyone.

It is the goal of Callaway-Jones to help people complete the relationship with the one who has died and to provide a climate that encourages each person to give and receive emotional support. During the funeral service, family and friends have the opportunity to relate to each other at the deepest levels and find mutual strength.

Complete Funeral Service

Traditionally, the funeral will be a Complete Funeral Service. This includes a family or public viewing of the deceased. Following this will be a service, typically in the church or at the funeral home. This would be followed by the earth or above ground burial of the casketed remains. Caskets selected may cost from several hundred dollars to several thousands of dollars depending on the material the casket is constructed of. Many cemeteries require that a minimum grave liner be used to encase the casket when earth buried. These minimum liners are constructed of concrete and are designed to hold the weight of the earth, maintaining the cemetery property. A sealed vault may also be used. The vaults are also constructed of concrete and are designed to not only protect the gravesite, but are manufactured with inner liners that not only restrict the entrance of graveside elements (water and earth) but increase the strength of the vault.

Graveside Service

The Graveside Service can be another selection. This many times would follow a time of visitation at the funeral home. The casketed remains would then be transferred to the cemetery where a graveside ceremony could take place followed by the burial.

Green Burials

Callaway-Jones offers environmentally friendly burial practices for those who desire a funeral in harmony with the earth.  Green and Natural Funerals are reminiscent of a bygone time when it was customary practice to bury in a way that allowed the body to return to the earth naturally.  For those committed to caring for our planet, natural burial is a uniquely satisfying choice, as well as a profoundly moving memorial.  By providing natural burial services, we endeavor to practice good stewardship in making it possible for families to care for the earth, as we care for their loved ones.  A growing number of families are now choosing services of this type to honor their loved ones.

Veteran Service

At Callaway-Jones Funeral Home, we believe it is extremely important to honor the lives of our faithful veterans who have so courageously served our country.  That's why we offer a variety of respectful veteran's funeral services.  We can assist your family in arranging military funeral honors for eligible veterans, as required by law. All honorably discharged veterans are entitled to benefits including but not limited to: flag folding and presentation, playing of taps, tweny-one gun salute, burial plot in a National Veterans Cemetery, and a Veterans Headstone. The American Legion Earl Graham Post 159, in Bryan, provides military honors for our local veterans at most of the local cemeteries.  If preferred, we are also happy to arrange for active duty military honors providing soldiers are available to attend at the time requested.

Complete Cremation Service

The Complete Cremation Service is another type of selected offering. This service will be just like a Complete Funeral Service except cremation will follow instead of the casketed burial. This can be accommodated by the use of a cremation casket (casket that is designed to be cremated) or even a rental casket may be used. Following the viewing, service or ceremony, and eventual cremation, the cremated remains can be buried, properly scattered, or returned to the family for safe keeping. Urns are used to hold the cremated remains. Urns can be constructed out of basic materials like cardboard or plastic, or constructed out of more protective materials like basic and semi-precious metals, ceramics, and woods.

Immediate Cremation Service

The Immediate Cremation Service can be arranged as an immediate disposition of the body, but is most times followed by a memorial service at the church, funeral home or other location. A Memorial Service is one where the body is not present. We recommend that if you select an immediate cremation that you are allowed a time, if possible, to privately view the body as a family. If the viewing can be done in a matter of a few hours after the death then embalming will not be necessary. If there is to be a long delay (more than 8-12 hours) then embalming would be encouraged. State laws vary as to when embalming becomes required. Viewing of the deceased is a very important step in acknowledging that the death has occurred. Having some type of service or ceremony is also a key ingredient to a healthy recovery of a loss due to a death.

Personalized Services

At Callaway-Jones, we encourage families to create very personalized services. It is important to acknowledge that life that has been lived and to offer to the community a way in which to celebrate that life. By offering services and memorialization features that are personal and special, a unique life can be remembered and honored in an individualized way that is comforting to the family and friends.