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Glossary of Cemetery and Funeral Terms

Click on the term below for information on the topic.

• Alternative Container

  An unfinished wood box or other non-metal receptacle without ornamentation or interior often made of cardboard, fiberboard, pressed wood or composition materials, and generally lower in cost than caskets.

• Arrangement Room

  A room in the funeral home set aside for funeral home staff and the bereaved family to make funeral arrangements.

• Beneficiary

  Any recipient of the proceeds of an insurance policy or funeral trust.

• Burial or Disposition Permit

  A permit required by some states for human remains to be buried, cremated or shipped and is usually acquired by the mortuary.

• Casket

  A casket is any container designed for holding human remains. It may be made of wood or metal. Has an interior and are seldom called "coffins" in the funeral industry.

• Casket Spray

  A large floral arrangement adorning the top of the casket, usually displayed at the visitation and services.

• Catholic Funeral Mass

  Within Catholicism the Catholic Funeral Mass is the funeral service held in the Catholic Church.

• Catholic Rosary

  The Rosary is a devotional prayer, mental and vocal, honoring the Blessed Mother of God. It is said on a string of beads made up of five sets each of one large and ten smaller beads, called decades. On the large beads the Our Father is said: on the small ones, the Hail Mary. The usual devotion is the fifteen decades, on the joyous, sorrowful, or glorious aspects of Our Lord and Our Lady's life. It is the most popular of all no liturgical Catholic devotions and has been highly recommended by many Popes. This is the standard Rosary.

• Catholic Vigil

  The Catholic Vigil is part of the order of Catholic Christian funerals using a set liturgy of prayer, readings and sharing, all pointing to the saving grace of God. It is observed as a preparation the evening before the Funeral Mass.

• Cemetery Property

  A grave, crypt or niche.

• Cemetery Services

  Opening and closing graves, crypts or niches; setting grave liners and vaults; setting markers; and long-term maintenance of cemetery grounds and facilities.

• Columbarium

  A structure with niches (small spaces) for placing cremated remains in urns. It may be outdoors or part of a mausoleum.

• Cortege

  The funeral procession.

• Cremation

  Exposing remains and the container encasing them to extreme heat and flame and processing the resulting bone fragments to a uniform size and consistency.

• Cremated Remains or Cremains

  The by-product of the cremation process consisting of bone fragments.

• Crematory

  A building with a furnace for the purpose of cremating remains.

• Crypt

  A space within a mausoleum designed as a permanent resting place for human remains.

• Crypt Plate

  In most cases a bronze memorial bar is used to memorialize the human remains inside the crypt.

• Death Certificate

  A death certificate is a legal document, signed by a medical health professional or coroner certifying the death of an individual. The death certificate is used for many legal processes pertaining to death, from arrangement for interment to the settlement of estate assets.

• Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)

  A department within of the State of California governing various business's including the funerals & cemeteries.

• Department of Consumer Affairs Fee

  A fee charged by the DCA for any burial, entombment or cremation.

• Disinterment

  See exhume.

• Display Room

  A room in a funeral home set aside for viewing available caskets, urns, and other funeral merchandise.

• Disposition

  Refers to any manner in which remains will be finally put to rest, including ground burial, mausoleum entombment, inurnment of cremated remains and all other forms of placement.

• Double Depth Burial

  One grave liner integrally attached on top of another liner. Used to place two human remains in one space.

• Embalming

  Embalming is the procedure using chemicals, such as formaldehyde, to temporarily preserve human remains. Embalming is not required by any state or federal law.

• Endowment Care Fund

  Money collected from cemetery property purchasers and placed in trust for the maintenance and upkeep of the cemetery.

• Entombment

  Burial in a mausoleum.

• Eulogy

  A eulogy is a form of public speaking at funerals used to honor and praise the deceased.

• Exhume

  To remove human remains from a grave, mausoleum or niche possibly for medical or legal investigation or to move to another cemetery.

• Funeral Director

  A funeral professional who arranges the services and burial for the deceased as well as other services and maintains a funeral home for these purposes.

• Funeral Home

  Any licensed, regulated business that provides for the care, planning and preparation of human remains for their final resting place. A funeral home usually arranges and conducts funerals, memorial services, cremations, embalming and other services such as the sale of caskets. Also called Mortuary.

• Funeral Insurance

  Funeral insurance is an insurance policy designed to cover costs directly related to your funeral and cemetery services.

• Funeral Services

  Services provided by a funeral director and staff, which may include consulting with the family on funeral planning; transportation, shelter, refrigeration and embalming of remains; preparing and filing notices; obtaining authorizations and permits; and coordinating with the cemetery, crematory or other third parties.

• Funeral Spray

  A large bouquet of cut flowers sent to the residence or the funeral home as a tribute to the deceased.

• Funeral Trust

  Usually a fund, set aside with money to pay for funeral and cemetery services.

• Grave

  A space in the ground in a cemetery for the burial of remains.

• Grave Liner

  A concrete cover that fits over a casket in a grave. Some liners cover tops and sides of the casket. Others referred to as vaults, completely enclose the casket. Grave liners minimize ground settling.

• Graveside Service

  A service to commemorate the deceased held at the cemetery before burial.

• Headstone

  A grave marker or monument marking the gravesite.

• Honorarium

  The fee typically paid to a clergy person for officiating the funeral ceremony.

• Interment

  Burial in the ground.

• Inurnment

  The placing of cremated remains in an urn or the process of burying or entombing the urn.

• Lawn Crypt

  A concrete grave liner used to protect the casket in the ground.

• Mausoleum

  A building in which remains are buried or entombed.

• Memorial Folders

  See service folders.

• Memorial Service

  A Memorial Service is a ceremony commemorating the deceased, without the body present.

• Morgue

  These are often municipally operated facilities where remains are held pending identification by next of kin. They are also found within hospitals and used as a refrigerated holding facility.

• Mortuary

  See Funeral Home

• Niche

  A space in a columbarium, mausoleum or niche wall to hold an urn.

• Niche Plate

  In most cases a bronze memorial plaque is used to memorialize the cremated remains inside the niche.

• Opening and Closing Fees

  Cemetery fees for the digging and refilling of a grave.

• Pallbearers

  Individuals who are asked to carry the casket.

• Personalized Funerals

  A personalized funeral is a non-traditional type of funeral growing in popularity.

• Pre-need or Pre-planning

  Pre-planning is arranging all aspects of your funeral (especially financing) in advance.

• Remains

  The body of the deceased.

• Register Book

  A book present at visitation or services for recording the names of people in attendance to pay their respects to the deceased. Also has space for entering other data such as name, dates of birth and death of the deceased, name of the officiating clergyman, place of interment, time and date of service, list of floral tributes, etc. Also called Guest Book.

• Reposing Room

  A room in the funeral home where the body rests for private & public viewing prior to the funeral service. Also known as a visitation or viewing room.

• Scattering Garden

  An enclosed dedicated area below ground level at the cemetery where cremated remains are scattered and commingled with other cremated remains.

• Service Folders/Memorial Folders

  Printed folders listing the service information, bible verses or poems that are given to attendees of the funeral service. Photos may also be printed on these folders.

• Urn

  A container to hold cremated remains.

• Vault

  A vault is a grave liner that completely encloses a casket and resists the entrance of outside elements.

• Vigil

  In Roman Catholicism, a service held on the eve of the funeral service.

• Visitation

  Usually held at the funeral home, this is a scheduled time when the body is on display (if appropriate) and friends and family pay respects to the dead and visit with each other.

• Wake

  A wake is a traditional watch over the deceased usually conducted by family members and close friends. "Wake" and "watch" are etymologically related. Today this is commonly known as a visitation or viewing.

Cherokee Memorial Park and Funeral Home is a memorial park, cemetery and funeral home located just a short drive from Stockton in Lodi, California, and has served residents of the San Joaquin Valley for over 70 years. Our friendly and comforting staff is dedicated to serving families in need of a funeral home, funeral parlor, funeral chapel, funeral services, funeral directors, undertakers, cremation, a mausoleum, memorial park, memorial service, cemetery or mortuary. We proudly serve the communities of Lodi, Stockton, Manteca, Galt, Acampo, Victor, Lockeford, Clements, Galt, Thornton, Lathrop, French Camp. For more information, please call us at (209) 944-9898, or write or visit us at Cherokee Memorial Park, Highway 99 & Harney Lane, Lodi, CA 95240.