Forms of final disposition: Cremation Part 2

Things you should know before you go:
Forms of final disposition: Cremation Part 2
By Andrew Hodges
August 2007

When cremation is selected, it can take place immediately with a memorial service, graveside service or no service following. Cremation can also take place after a funeral so that the person's body is present for visitation and/or funeral service. Embalming can be done and followed by cremation. At the time of the funeral arrangement meeting between the funeral director and the next of kin, the person willing to sign documentation, otherwise known as the purchaser, is asked to sign a cremation application which includes information such as the deceased full name, date and place of birth, date and place of death, age, sex and address along with the purchaser's name, contact information and relationship to the deceased. Most cremation applications will have a section asking if there is a will and that the purchaser is named executor. If there is no will, or if the executor is not the same person signing the application, there is space to give an explanation to why the executor is not signing the application.

Before a person's body can be cremated a Coroner must sign a cremation certificate, which insures there is no need for any further investigation to the cause of death and that cremation is safe to be completed. Also, if the deceased has a pacemaker, the funeral home staff must remove it as the battery can explode if introduced to heat.

Once funeral home staff have registered the death and obtained a burial permit, signed corner's certificate, and a completed cremation application, the staff can transfer the person's body to the crematorium. At this time in Ontario, only cemeteries are allowed to have crematoriums on site. The closest crematoriums to St. Marys are in London where there are three: Forest Lawn, Woodland Cemetery and Mount Pleasant Cemetery. My funeral home uses Mount Pleasant Crematorium,   a non-profit lot owners cemetery run by a volunteer board of directors, because they have the largest cremation retort in London, which allows for oversize caskets to be cremated and I find their staff to be exceptionally professional.

Upon arrival at the crematorium, the funeral home staff presents the required documentation and the deceased's name is written beside a number on an arrival sheet. A metal coin with that number is then placed with the deceased's casket or cremation container in order to insure the body is correctly identified after the cremation occurs.  If the cremation cannot take place immediately, the body is stored in a refrigeration unit. If the person's body is in a casket that has metal handles, the crematorium staff will remove them before the cremation occurs.

Mount Pleasant has three gas-fired retorts where bodies are cremated. Depending on the type of casket or cremation container (metal caskets cannot be cremated), it can take anywhere from three to five hours to complete the cremation at a heat of approximately 1,000 Celsius or 1,800 Fahrenhiet, a level of heat which incinerates everything except bone. The cremated remains are then pushed to one side of the retort where they are then brushed into a portable tin tray. The tray is then moved to an adjacent room where the cremated remains are spread onto a metal table. A magnet is used to remove any metal such as the identification coin, screws and nails from a casket, as well as any artificial joints.

The last stage in the process involves the cremation processor, which is a machine that turns the cremated remains into a fine powder.

Next month's article will deal with the basic cost involved with cremation and what can be done with cremated remains, burial or scattering.