Matthews Funeral Home has Edmond’s only cremation facility. We made the decision to add this service as our clients have been requesting this service more and more. We can now take care of your loved one throughout the entire funeral process.
Many people are choosing cremation as their choice for the final disposition for themselves or their loved one. There are some facts you need to know so 
you can make an informed decision about cremation.
A person does not have to be embalmed if cremation is your choice unless you select a service that would require it and those are explained below. The funeral home that you select legally must have refrigeration facilities on site to be able to care for your loved one at their funeral home. Not all funeral homes have such facilities and therefore would take your loved one to another facility into someone else’s care, not theirs. We have such facilities and your loved one will be in our care at our facilities at all times. Also, not all funeral homes have cremation facilities and would also use another company at another location to perform the cremation. We again have those facilities. We are the only Edmond funeral home that has the required by law facilities to do so.
Below you will find some of the options for cremation. First let’s discuss what cremation is and why some people choose cremation.
Cremation is the process of reducing the body to very tiny fragments of bone (not ashes as you probably thought) through intense heat and pulverization of the remaining bones that are left after the cremation process. The cremains are placed in a temporary container for the family to choose the final disposition. Some families will bury the cremains and others will scatter them in a place that is important to them or the deceased.
Many people will look at cremation as an alternative to ground burial. They will still have a traditional funeral and instead of going to a cemetery the body is cremated. Some people feel it is ecologically better to cremate than bury a casket. Reasons for cremation vary widely, and cremation is your choice. Please explore all the options available to you and your family.
Traditional Services with Cremation
Many people do not understand that this option is available to them. What it involves is a Traditional service including viewing of the deceased and a service with the body present at the funeral either in the funeral home, chapel, church or location the family selects. After the service, the family usually greets the friends who came to the service, and the deceased is taken to the crematory for the cremation.
With this option the family and friends have given themselves the benefit of the viewing and a traditional service with whatever degree of personalization and also have accommodated the deceased’s wish to be cremate
To clear up some myths about the cremation service…
You do not have to purchase a casket – many funeral homes have caskets that are used for this purpose. The interior of the casket is completely removable and usually it is a wood casket. The funeral home will have, for lack of better terminology, a rental fee for this casket. There would be no outside container to be purchased, unless the ashes are to be buried in a cemetery that required such.
Before continuing, I would like to emphasize again the importance of some type of service to allow the family and friends to gather to share memories and their grief. You will find us emphasizing this because we believe in it very strongly — not just because we are a funeral home. We see the importance of family and friends getting together and drawing strength and comfort from each other.
Viewing, Cremation, Memorial Service
Here is an option that still allows for the viewing of the deceased, and allows family and friends to pay their respects and to face the death. The difference is that instead of the body being present at the service the cremation takes place after the viewing. The ashes can be present at the memorial service or not.
Direct Cremation
If this option is selected, the family signs the cremation paperwork and the body is cremated without any viewing or service.
You can do a memorial service with or without the ashes present if you wish and we would encourage that you do so.
Cremation is becoming a more and more popular choice of families and if it is your choice we would be happy to sit down with you and give you the many options that are available to help you make the services for your loved one a true celebration of their life lived.