Page 16 - Commack Abbey Funeral Home
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most part remains can be buried in a                     Eulogies
         cemetery  lot  or  a  cremation  garden,
         interred in a columbarium, kept at home                  Giving a meaningful, moving eulogy can
         or scattered.                                            be a nerve-wracking situation for even the
                                                                  most accomplished public speaker, but

         How can I be sure I receive the correct                  it need not be. How can you summarize
         remains?                                                 somebody’s life in a few short minutes,
         All reputable cremation providers have                   while being both somber and funny at
         developed rigorous sets of operating                     the  same  time?  Writing  and  delivering
         policies and procedures in order to                      a eulogy is a therapeutic tool to help
         maximize the level of service and                        deal with your grief, and being chosen to
         minimize the potential for human error.                  give a eulogy is an honor and should be
         Since  it  is  illegal  to  perform  more  than          treated that way. Here are some tips for
         one cremation at a time, and the vast                    writing and delivering an eloquent and
         majority of crematories can only cremate                 memorable eulogy.
         one body at a time, it is next to impossible
         to receive the incorrect remains.                        Gather information. Talk with family
                                                                  members, close friends and co- workers
                                                                  to  get  important information  on  the
         How long does the actual cremation
         take?                                                    deceased. Some important information
         It all depends on the weight of the                      to include in the eulogy is the person’s
                                                                  family and other close relationships,
         individual. For an average sized adult,                  their    education/career,       hobbies     or
         cremation can take two to three hours
         at a normal operating temperature                        special interests, places the person
         of between 1000 and 2000 degrees                         lived or travelled to, and any special
         Fahrenheit.                                              accomplishments they had.

                                                                  Organize  your  thoughts.  Jot  down  your
         What do the cremated remains look                        ideas  by  whatever  means  are  most
         like?                                                    comfortable and familiar to you. Create
         Cremated remains resemble coarse sand                    an outline of your speech, and fill in the
         and are whitish to light grey in color. The              information that you gathered about the
         remains of an average sized adult usually                person.
         weigh between 7 and 8 pounds.

                                                                  Write  it  down. This is not  a toast  at  a
         Are all the cremated remains returned?                   wedding where you can make off the
         With the exception of minute and                         cuff remarks, and you should not adlib a
         microscopic       particles,     which      are          eulogy. Writing it all down allows you to
         impossible to remove from the cremation                  include and remember every detail you
         chamber and processing machine, all of                   wanted  to  incorporate  in  your  speech.
         the cremated remains are given back to                   When you bring a copy of your eulogy to
         the family.                                              the podium make sure it is easy to read,
                                                                  print it out in a large font, or if hand-
         Do I need an urn?                                        written leave a few spaces between the
         An urn is not required by law. However,                  lines. Keep in mind your time constraints,
         an urn may be desired if there is to be a                it’s best to keep things on the short side,
         memorial service or if the remains are to                especially if there are other speakers.
         be interred in a cemetery. If an urn is not
         purchased or provided by the family, the                 Review and Revise. Your first draft will not
         cremated remains will be returned in a                   be the last. When you think you are done,
         temporary plastic container.                             sleep on it and look it over in the morning



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