Cascade Memorial Blog

Cremation is the most popular disposition choice in Western Washington

In Washington state, cremation is chosen as the preferred method of disposition for 73% of services. Religious restrictions and tradition aside, cremation is notably on the rise in the United States, as well as abroad. Cremation dates back to over 20,000 years ago, but is more recently becoming more acceptable. Among the reasons why people choose cremation are personal preference, preservation of land, saving money, and the desire for simplicity in funeral arrangements.

Cremation is, generally speaking, less expensive than traditional burial services. There are a wide variety of factors that impact the cost of a cremation service, including whether or not a witness cremation, visitation or viewing is selected, if there will be a gathering or memorial “Celebration of Life” service, and whether or not the ashes will be placed in a permanent resting place, such as a cemetery or columbarium, or in a mausoleum.

Prices vary a great deal from funeral home to funeral home. Depending on whether or not the funeral home is family-owned or owned by a corporation, if they own and operate their own crematory or if they outsource their cremations to a third party, and what kind of facility the funeral home operates out of (i.e. a beautiful, traditional funeral home with chapel as compared to a conservative, professional office setting), these differences can make the difference of thousands of dollars.

We encourage anyone who is interested in inquiring about services and the associated pricing to ask the following questions:

• Where is your crematory?
• Do you own it?
• May I see it?

Also, many cremation service providers have a guaranteed identification tracking assurance. We recommend asking for a general price list to be supplied to you, either by email, mail, or you may ask if it is available online. Many families want to know whether or not a funeral home has their own care technicians (the team that comes to a home or place of death to perform the removal and take a loved one into their care), as well as what their average response time is in the local area.

If you have questions about cremation, burial, or other funeral services, please feel free to call us at 425-641-6100 or email info@cascadememorial.com. The Washington State Office of the Attorney General also has helpful guidelines on their website.