Cremation Options

People choose cremation for a variety of reasons: philosophical, religious, and even environmental. Others make the decision because cremation is simpler and more natural. If you are considering cremation, it's important to know and understand all of the choices available to you.

Here you may learn about the many different options for personalized services, memorialization, and products that are available to you when you choose cremation. 

Within these pages, you will discover more uplifting and refreshing ways of saying goodbye. You'll find that choosing cremation opens up endless possibilities for expressing the beauty and the gifts of an individual life, with a myriad of choices for creating a personalized life commemoration. 

Options® by Batesville is dedicated to creating innovative memorial products to serve the needs of individuals like you who want something different. In fact, as a division of Batesville Casket Company, we draw on a century-old tradition of creating innovative life-celebrating products for families. 

Let us be your guide as you plan The Commemoration of a Lifetime.

Few experiences surpass the power of a commemorative gathering or ceremony. It's an opportunity to bring people together in one place, at one time, for one purpose—to make a personal statement—a lasting tribute to the one you loved.

Gathering

A time for family and friends to visit, share memories and show support. Bringing favorite things to the gathering gives others a chance to share and remember. In what creative ways can you display a loved one's interest? 

Ceremony

An uplifting program with planned events as a special tribute. Whether simple or elaborate, traditional or contemporary, a ceremony is more meaningful when planned around best-loved activities, hobbies, and interests. 

Casket Present 

Either opened for viewing or closed, a casket provides a focal point for a service. Indoors or out, a garden theme creates a fragrant and fitting background for a gathering or ceremony. 

Urn Present

An urn provides a focal point for the service and continuity for permanent memorialization. Let the music play. From Mozart to Motley Crue, anything goes to set the tone. 

Memory Tables

Islands of personality reflecting the individuality of the life being celebrated. Create a memory table for each hobby or love - sewing, family, collecting, reading. Your choice for permanent memorialization provides you and your family a lasting focal point for healing and strength. Whether you decide on a touchstone at home, a niche or special area at the cemetery, or a ceremonial or complete scattering—or some combination of these—it's an ongoing expression of love in the celebration of a beautiful life. 

Home 

A touching way to hold the memory of your loved one close. Statuary artwork, memorabilia chests, wind chimes; urn choices are as different and as personal as your beloved. 

Cemetery

Burial, niche placement or a memorial bench are popular memorialization choices. Choose a memorial near benches, statuary, or trees for tranquil reflection. 

Scattering

Complete or partial scattering is a symbolic release of your loved one back into the world. Keepsake urns allow you to retain a portion of cremated remains, so you can remember a loved one in your own private way. 

 The Living Memorial

Since 1976, funeral service professionals have taken great pride in offering bereaved families the Living Memorial® program. With the selection of a Batesville casket or an Options® by Batesville cremation product, your funeral director can make arrangements for a tree seedling to be planted in selected woodlands at no cost to you. 

Developed by Batesville Casket Company, in agreement with various government agencies, the program has been responsible for reforesting many thousands of acres with more than ten million trees. 

In the United States alone, the Department of Agriculture Forest Service has planted trees in most of the 156 national forests. In addition, international reforestation projects are underway in cooperation with The Grand River Foundation and The Canadian Forestry Association in Canada, the Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers, and The National Forest Company in the United Kingdom. 

The species and locations of the trees are determined by the government agencies in charge, based upon the greatest reforestation needs, such as areas damaged by forest fires and natural disasters. The Living Memorial program has grown to become the world's largest memorial reforestation effort. 

The Living Memorial program - commemorating one generation and caring for the next.