cremation options
Cremation
Cremation is a growing choice in our country and one that is widely accepted within many religions. When a body is cremated with our cremation services, it is reduced to its natural elements quickly and without chemicals. A variety of disposition options are available for those who choose cremation, including ground burial, cremation benches, urns, cremation niches, columbariums, and scattering options. We also offer pre-planned cremation services that can help bring peace of mind.
Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery operates our own crematory inside our facility. Your loved one never leaves our care during the entire process.
Traditional Funeral Service Followed by Cremation
Many families find meaning and beauty in a traditional funeral service. With a traditional service combined with cremation, you can still choose to have a final viewing, visitation, or wake, and a funeral service. However, instead of in-ground burial, the funeral will be followed by cremation. Depending on your wishes, the cremated remains may be either returned to your family for storage in an urn, scattered, or interred in a columbarium. This option will include fees for the funeral services as well as the fees associated with the cremation itself.
Memorial Service
The memorial service can be held in our chapel, a church, or any other venue the family chooses. We work with our families to design a service that honors their loved one with stories, music, or scripture. We also have life celebrants that lead services where clergy may not be chosen. Our celebrants are trained in creating experiences that help start the healing process.
Graveside Service
Graveside services following cremation offer a meaningful way to honor your loved one with a final act of remembrance. This intimate gathering at the burial site of the urn provides a quiet moment for family and friends to reflect, share memories, and say goodbye in a peaceful setting. Whether simple or ceremonial, it’s a heartfelt way to bring closure and lay your loved one to rest with dignity.
Direct Cremation
Direct cremation involves the transportation of the deceased from the home, hospital, nursing facility, or coroner's office to our crematory facilities. It also includes the completion of all required paperwork. There are no formal memorial services and your loved one’s ashes are promptly returned to the family.
White Dove Release
A symbolic display of “letting go” and beginning the grieving process. The trained white birds will soar into the sky, usually circling any number of times in a group before returning to their home lofts at distances of up to several hundred miles.
Silk Flower Arrangement
We offer a beautiful selection of silk flower arrangements that are placed in cemetery vases. These flowers are changed seasonally, with the option to add special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries.
Pricing
Direct Cremation: $2,045-$5,290
Direct Cremation with container provided by family: $1,995
Direct Cremation with alternative container: $2,145-$5,290
Witness Cremation (Family present when deceased is placed in Crematory): $495
On-Site Cremation
Unlike other funeral homes, Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery operates its own crematory inside our facility. Having our crematory on-site allows us to reassure families that their loved one never leaves the care of our funeral home. All of our funeral directors are licensed cremationists.
Cremation Frequently Asked Questions
What is cremation?
It is probably easier to describe what cremation isn't. Under Arizona law, cremation is the final disposition of remains, but it is not a family's only option, nor is it a type of funeral service. Rather, cremation reduces human remains to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high temperatures and vaporization. Contrary to popular belief, the cremated remains are not ashes in the usual sense, but rather dried bone fragments that have been pulverized in a device called an electric cremated remains processor. This leaves the bone in a fine, sand-like texture and color, able to be scattered without any foreign matter.
Is embalming required prior to cremation?
No. Embalming is required for a public viewing and is your decision based on your family's needs. You will be asked by your funeral director for permission to embalm after he explains your options.
Is a casket needed for cremation?
No, a casket is not required for cremation. The only requirement for cremation is an alternative container constructed of wood or cardboard, which is cremated with the body. The choice and type of an alternative container or cremation casket will be mostly determined by whether the family wishes to view the deceased or has an aversion to the cardboard box.
Can the body be viewed without embalming?
Yes, immediate family members may briefly view the deceased prior to cremation. Mountain View has several options to help families. Identification viewing is encouraged because of the legal ramifications. The deceased is placed on a dressing table under a sheet and blanket for the family to view. Interpersonal service offers family members time to view their loved one after they have been dressed and placed in an alternative container with a pillow and interior of their choice. Public viewing for a visitation or funeral service requires embalming and an appropriate alternative container with handles.
Can the family witness the cremation?
Yes, Mountain View will allow family members to be present when the body is placed into the cremation chamber.
Is cremation accepted by all religions?
Today, most religions allow cremation except for Orthodox Judaism, Islam, Eastern Orthodoxy, and a few Fundamentalist Christian faiths. The Catholic Church accepts cremation as long as it is not chosen for reasons that are contrary to Christian teachings.
Can an urn be brought into church?
Nearly all Protestant Churches allow the urn to be present during the memorial service. Most Catholic Churches also allow the cremated remains to be present during the Memorial Mass. In fact, if the family is planning a memorial service, we encourage the cremated remains to be present, as it provides a focal point for the service.
What can be done with the cremated remains?
There are many options, and laws vary state to state. Remains can be buried in a cemetery lot or cremation garden, inurned in a columbarium, kept at home or scattered.
Do all funeral homes have a crematory?
Most funeral homes subcontract this delicate procedure to a third-party provider, so the funeral home has little or no control over the crematory's operating procedures. Often, the family incurs additional transportation expenses and timing delays. This is not the case at Mountain View Funeral Home, as we have our own crematory on-site.
How can I be sure I receive the correct remains?
Mountain View has developed rigorous operating policies and procedures in order to maximize the level of service and minimize the potential for human error. Cremations at Mountain View are only performed by licensed cremationists.
How long does the actual cremation take?
It depends on the weight of the individual. For an average-sized adult, cremation takes two to three hours at normal operating temperature.
What happens after the cremation is complete?
All organic bone fragments, which are very brittle, as well as non-consumed metal items are “swept” into the back of the cremation chamber and into a stainless steel cooling pan. All non-consumed items, like metal from clothing, hip joints, and bridge work, are separated from the cremated remains. This separation is accomplished through visual inspection as well as using a strong magnet for smaller and minute metallic objects. Items such as dental gold and silver are non-recoverable and are commingled in with the cremated remains. Remaining bone fragments are then processed in a machine to a consistent size and placed into a temporary or permanent urn selected by the family.
Can two cremations be performed at once?
No. It is illegal to do so and is also impossible due to the size of the cremation chamber.
What do the cremated remains look like?
Cremated remains resemble coarse sand and are whitish to light grey in color. The remains of an average-sized adult usually weigh between four and six pounds.
Are all the cremated remains returned?
With the exception of minute and microscopic particles, which are impossible to remove from the cremation chamber and processing machine, all of the cremated remains are given back to the family.
Do I need an urn?
An urn is not required by law. However, an urn may be desired if there is to be a memorial service or the remains are to be interred in a cemetery. If an urn is not purchased through us or provided by the family, the cremated remains will be returned in a temporary container.
Urns
For families who choose cremation, an urn is used as the vessel for your loved one’s remains. We offer a variety of styles that serve as a dignified final resting place following funeral services and cremation. Each urn is designed for its intended final resting place, including a loved one’s home, mausoleum entombment, ground burial, or scattering in a location of the family’s choosing. Personalization options are available, including engravings, keepsake urns, keepsake jewelry, and fingerprint jewelry.
Decorative Urns
These urns most often serve as a temporary urn when a family needs an urn for a cremation ceremony but has yet to decide on a permanent urn. They are also used for display in a columbarium niche or urn garden.
Wood Urns
Cherry, maple, pine, oak, walnut, and poplar are the most common woods used for urns, but exotic woods can also be used. Generally, urns are stained and often adorned with inlays and laser etchings.
Ceramic Urns
These urns are handcrafted from porcelain or clay that is fired in a special stove. The result is a glass-like finish that is covered with a hand-painted glaze. It should be noted that ceramic urns are very fragile.
Marble Urns
These urns start off as blocks of natural limestone that are then highly polished and processed into beautiful marble products. Marble urns are designed to withstand the elements for generations.
Metal Urns
Metal urns—most commonly bronze—are a durable, beautiful home for a loved one’s ashes. Metal urns are often used when the ashes are to be buried, but they are also displayed in homes.
Cloisonné Urns
These are highly detailed works of art. Handcrafted out of brass and enamel, each cloisonné urn is a handcrafted work of art, gilded and polished to perfection. The cloisonné process dates back many centuries.
Biodegradable Urns
These environmentally friendly urns are quickly becoming among the most popular in the industry today. Made from non-toxic paper, biodegradable urns are most commonly used when ashes are to be scattered, especially at sea.
Bronze Urns
Bronze urns are suitable for burial, but because of their elaborate beauty, many choose to display them in an outdoor memorial. These marvelous pieces stand up well to the harshest of elements.
Companion Urns
These very special urns allow loving couples who have spent their entire lives together to remain together for eternity. The two main types of companion urns allow the ashes to be mixed together or stored side by side.
Glass Urns
Ideal for memorial displays, glass urns are handcrafted by expert glassblowers. Some glass urns can even be crafted using tiny amounts of the deceased’s remains.
Infant Urns
These urns can be a great comfort to families who have suffered the loss of an infant or a child, or even those who have suffered a stillbirth. Many are specifically built to evoke the carefree, playful spirit of childhood.
Sport Urns
Sports Urns are specially designed to capture the spirit of someone with a lifelong devotion to sports and the outdoors. Many of these urns feature scenes of fishing or hunting, but they can also be shaped in the form of balls or other sports equipment.
Hobby Urns
Similar to Sports urns, hobby urns are specially designed to memorialize a lifelong devotion to a specific hobby. Those who are fans of needle crafts, for example, may be memorialized with a beautiful metal urn shaped like a ball of yarn.
Military & Veteran Urns
These urns pay tribute to America’s heroes. Military & veteran urns are available in a wide variety of styles and designs, but all are designed to reflect the values and achievements of American soldiers.
Art Urns
These urns are works of fine art that have been designed to include a storage place for cremation ashes. Some art urns are commissioned well in advance of a death to reflect the personality of the deceased precisely.
Sculpted Urns
Sculpted urns are beautiful mini sculptures that have been designed to accommodate cremated remains. And since sculpture is a fine art, it is appropriate to think of these urns as being art urns as well.
