Important Considerations when choosing a Funeral Home for Cremation

Did you know that according to the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), the percentage of people choosing to be cremated has grown from 48% in 2015 and is expected to rise to 54% by 2020? Specifically, in the United States, a study that was commissioned by the  Funeral and Memorial Information Council (FAMIC) reported that 65% of Americans were “definitely” or “likely” to choose cremation.

1. Choose A Funeral Home that Cares about the Cremation Experience. 

It pains us to know that others in our industry do not take the same, loving care with individuals choosing cremation that Lake Ridge Chapel does. Some funeral homes are opting to increase their rates of “direct cremation”. 

We think this philosophy of “direct cremation” causes families to miss out on part of the grief and healing journey and fails to honor the unique legacy of the deceased individual. Lake Ridge Chapel desires to help you honor and cherish the memory of your loved one, regardless of the choice in the final disposition of their remains.

2. Whether choosing cremation or burial, it’s important to meet with and inspect the funeral home you’d like to use. 

Not all funeral homes and crematories are the same. As we mentioned above, some individuals in the industry simply treat it as a “necessary business”, devoid of emotion and sympathy. This causes them to have less than stellar facilities, especially when it comes to their crematory. 

Crematories are often located off-site from the funeral home and in warehouses that we think strips the dignity of the individual being cremated. 

This is why we’re such big advocates for preplanning; it allows you the time to do your research, choose a place that is respectful and professional, and make your decisions without being under stress.

3. Lake Ridge Chapel offers tours of every inch of our facility. 

It’s part of our policy to always be trustworthy and transparent. We’re ready and able to show you that we practice what we preach and we were built to serve you. 

We will openly and honestly give you all the information you want and need regarding cremation practices at Lake Ridge Chapel, give you a tour of our crematory and ceremonial room, and provide educated and caring staff that can help you work through the entire decision-making process.

4. As the popularity of cremation rises, our quality of service will not change.

Just as we’ve mentioned above, the popularity of cremation as a preference for Americans is on the rise. This “trend” has left some funeral homes scrambling to accommodate the growing demand, cut corners on quality to deal with high demand, and also causing some to go under altogether.

This is not and WILL NOT be the case for Lake Ridge Chapel. Take a look below at how Lake Ridge Chapel has been committed, from the beginning, to serve you in your cremation preference. 

Lake Ridge Chapel was Built for Cremation

Despite some funeral homes not being ready to appropriately and delicately deal with the rising number of people who wish to be cremated, Lake Ridge Chapel was built for this purpose. 

Our standards of excellence will never falter despite what other funeral homes in the area and in the United States might struggling through. With love and deliberation, we have purposefully prepared our staff and facility to care for your families and loved ones in both burial services and cremation. 

Crematory On-Site

Our crematory is operated by carefully trained and licensed staff who work for Lake Ridge Chapel & Memorial designers and therefore adhere to our personal high standards of excellence. 

It is also ON-SITE at Lake Ridge Chapel, under the careful care of the ownership and leadership. 

Ceremonial Room

Lake Ridge Chapel is the only funeral home in Lubbock that features a special ceremonial room located next to our crematory facility. This room allows proximity to your loved one just before the cremation process so that family members wishing to be present for the start of the cremation process have that opportunity. 

Cremation with Confidence

Something you’ve probably read or seen a lot on our website and in our advertisements is “Cremation with Confidence”. This guarantee is exclusively offered by Lake Ridge Chapel & Memorial Designers. 

It’s a 10 step process implemented with every person at Lake Ridge Chapel that ensures safety, security, and dignity for your loved one while they’re in our care. You can read detailed descriptions of each step on our website (here: https://memorialdesigners.net/cremation/), but here are the basics

Overview of Cremation with Confidence

1. Your loved one never leaves the Lake Ridge Chapel facility

2. We’ve taken staff and technological measures to ensure we always know who and where every person is while they’re in our facility.

3. We provide opportunities for families to have final moments of goodbyes and also provide positive identification of loved ones one last time to ensure their peace of mind.

4. We follow up all cremations with a celebration of life. Just because a loved one is cremated doesn’t mean the family has to miss out on the closure that a traditional memorial service brings.

You can learn more about our entire cremation process with this simple brochure

Choosing cremation if it’s right for you

Ultimately, Lake Ridge Chapel and our whole staff are here to serve you, no matter whether you choose cremation or a traditional burial. We didn’t get into the funeral industry to have our way, but to make a way for you to be served how you need. 

We hope our deep care for all inhabitants of Lubbock and the surrounding communities is evident to you not only in our handling of your loved ones with regard to cremation but also in our devotion to our aftercare groups - the Lake Ridge Ladies and Lake Ridge Men - and our deep desire to care for people now AND later through our WISE workshops.

We've also written an eBook about Cremation that explains our processes, gives you good questions to think about, and answers frequently asked questions about cremation. You can download that here: Cremation eBook

Our staff members are never too busy for you.

We’ve all had experiences with businesses who say “we care!”, but when you show up just to gather information or ask questions (i.e. not spend money), they don’t have the time of day for you. 

This is NOT the philosophy of Lake Ridge Chapel. We know that preplanning funerals, deciding between cremation and burial, and organizing arrangements for loved ones is a complicated process and takes an emotional toll. Our ultimate goal is to HELP you, not profit off of your loss and grief. When we say “come in and talk to us”, we mean it. 

We value transparency and we love to answer your toughest questions, give you a tour of every inch of our facility, and meet with you to talk about your needs.