The style of the funeral service can be customized to compliment the life and wishes of each individual. A truly personalized service can provide meaning and healing value for those attending. At the Kearney A. Snyder Funeral Home, we will present all your choices and cost considerations.

Meaningful Funeral Services
A funeral is a unique event in the life of a family. No two are exactly alike. Yet each is an experience of value, if it meets the different needs of the family members. A funeral service is a celebration of a person's life. Its personalizing should be as unique as the individual, providing a focal point for remembrance. Whichever form of service you choose, Kearney A. Snyder Funeral Home will provide your family with a respectful, caring, personal and meaningful service.

What Choices do I have?

• Private Family Viewing or Public Viewing
• Casket Open or Closed
• Public Viewing (Open Casket) or Visitation (Closed Casket)
• Service at Church, Funeral Home, Chapel, Nursing Home, Retirement Home or at Home
• Viewing the Evening Before or 1 Hour Prior to Service
• Casket Present for Service or Not Present (Memorial Service)
• Public or Private Service
• Public or Private Interment/Entombment
• Religious (Pastor or Priest) or Humanistic/Contemporary Service (No Clergy)
• Graveside Service: Consists of having the main service at the grave instead of at the Church or Funeral Home.
• Direct Burial: With Direct Burial in a cemetery, there are no formal services. The deceased is taken to the cemetery and buried.

Traditional Funeral Service
A traditional funeral service is still the preferred choice for many families. This usually involves having a private family viewing followed by a public viewing, usually the evening before from 7:00-9:00 P.M. or 6:00-8:00 P.M. or one (1) hour prior to the service (some families opt for both). The deceased is in a casket for the viewing and service. After the viewing, the service takes place. At the conclusion of the service, we process to the cemetery for ground burial or above ground entombment in a mausoleum.

Cremation
We have the most hands-on experience with cremations than any other funeral home in Lancaster County as we have owned and operated our own on-site crematory since 1992. We only do cremations for our own clients. Therefore, we only do one cremation at a time. People choose cremation for different reasons: Concern for the amount of space cemeteries use; religious or personal beliefs; and cost. Realizing the increased popularity of this funeral choice led us to install our on-site cremation facility so we could better oversee the entire process. However, cremation is only the beginning of this decision. People can choose from:

Choice in Type of Gathering
• Traditional, Memorial Service, Direct, Graveside
• Church, Funeral Home, Chapel, Graveside, Etc.
• Public Viewing
• Private Family Viewing

Choice in Final Disposition:

• Cremains may be buried
• Scattered
• Memorial Gardens
• Niche
• Rest in an urn at Home

We give the families an opportunity to view privately if they choose to do so. Cremation is considered final disposition, so what takes place after the cremation is entirely up to each individual family. We must wait 24 hours before cremation may take place and we need written authorization from both the family and the Coroner’s office.

• Traditional Service with Cremation: People can choose a traditional service where the deceased is prepared for viewing purposes. They may choose to purchase a casket or rent a casket. After the service, instead of going to the cemetery, the deceased is cremated.
• Cremation with a Memorial Service: This is where cremation takes place first. Then a memorial service where the deceased is not present follows the cremation. The choice of having the cremated remains present can help provide a focus for remembering. many families choose to provide pictures, memorabilia, awards, personal effects or other reflections of the life, business, hobbies and interests of the person remembered.
• Cremation with a Graveside Service: Again, the cremation takes place first, followed by a service at the cemetery. This service is still an opportunity for a gathering of family and friends to commemorate a life that has been lived.
• Direct Cremation: This is the least chosen type of cremation. The deceased is cremated and no service is provided or conducted.