Pre-Planning/Frequently Asked Questions

Schmutzler-Vick Funeral Home and Cremation Service offers a wide choice of individualized services within all budgets.

Prior to meeting with a funeral director, it is a good idea to think about whether you would prefer burial or cremation.  Both can be accompanied by a viewing and/or a funeral service or other type of memorialization, or they can be done directly without any type of service or viewing.  The decisions are up to you.  Our staff is here to assist you in individualizing your services.  We are always here to give you all the options so all your needs are met.

The following are some of the services we can assist you with:

*Complete funeral service - Includes visitation and funeral service at the funeral home and/or church and a committal at the local cemetery of your choice.

*Complete service ending with cremation - Includes all of the above.

*Immediate burial or cremation.

*Memorial services with gathering of family and friends.

*Any other type of service  or gathering that assists the family and friends in remembering a life that has been lived.

*Infant Services.

*Services are provided to all families regardless of their economic status.  

*Organ and tissue donations.

*Medical School donations, with or without a funeral or memorial service.

*Social service funerals.

*Veteran and fraternal group funerals.

*Services when death occurs anywhere in the world.  

*Aftercare services following the funeral service.

*Pre-Arranged funeral services.

*Pre-paid funeral services through bank trusting or insurance plans.

There are many ways that you can personalize a tribute to a life that has been lived.  The memorialization can be traditional or as unique as the life being celebrated.  Below are a few ideas to consider, many others are possible.  Feel free to discuss your ideas with your funeral director.  Together you can come up with a funeral arrangement that not only meets your budget but is a fitting tribute to your loved one.

*Memorial folders with custom verses
*Memory Tables
*Picture boards and collages
*Casket/Urn personalization
*Floral Arrangements
*Service Arrangements
*Musical Arrangements
*Special readings or eulogies
*Our personalized memorial area



CREMATION SERVICES

Schmutzler Vick Funeral Home and Cremation Service offers services that fit the needs of all families.  We can provide a complete cremation service with a visitation and the body present, to a memorial service or time for memorialization, or a simple, dignified direct cremation without any type of memorialization.

We have a full line of merchandise for families that choose cremation.  We have cremation caskets and containers, including a rental casket, for memorializing the deceased''s life.   We also have a wide selection of cremation urns to fit the needs of all families.

We have a crematory on site at our Watertown Funeral Home, so our cremations are done on the premises.  Our trained staff performs all cremations, so you are assured of receiving the correct cremated remains.  We track all cremains with an identification system.

If you wish to receive more information regarding our cremation services, just CONTACT US, or call (920) 261-3439.



COST OF GOODS AND SERVICES


Goods and services are defined as that which we can provide for our families.  You may choose only the items that you desire.  The funeral arrangements that you select will be in addition to our "basic service and overhead" charge.  If legal or other requirements mean you must buy any item or service you did not specifically ask for, we will explain the reason in writing.

If you are interested in receiving a cost estimate for our services, please contact us through our e-mail information section located at the end of our website, or call us at (920) 261-3439.



FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Many people have questions that they may or may not feel comfortable asking their funeral director. We hope that this will be of some help to you. If you think of something else you would like to add to this list of questions, please contact us so we can make it a part of our site''s helpful information.


WHY IS A FUNERAL IMPORTANT?  For many, a visitation followed by a funeral service, memorial, or other ceremony is the first step in the grieving process.  It is a time when friends, family, and other guests come together to grieve openly and to support one another in a common time and place.  It is also a time to say good-bye.  Viewing can bring a sense of closure to the bereaved who may be in shock or denial and may help to wipe away the memory of a long, devastating illness.


WHAT DOES THE FUNERAL DIRECTOR DO?

-Transfer the deceased from the place of death, anytime, day or night.
-Notify proper authorities, family, and/or relatives.
-Prepare and have the death certificate signed.
-Arrange for certified copies of the death certificate for the family''s legal needs.
-File necessary paperwork with social security and the veteran''s administration.
-Prepare and submit the obituary to newspapers and radio stations.
-Bathe and embalm the deceased (if requested by family).
-Prepare the deceased for burial (i.e. clothing, cosmetics, and hairdressing).
-Assist family with arranging a personalized funeral service.
-Assist family with selecting the proper merchandise.
-Answer the family''s questions about burial and cremation.
-If burial is to be performed, contact the cemetery and arrange for grave opening.
-Coordinate all funeral services with the clergy/church or other officiant, if a service is to be held.
-Carry out all of the family''s wishes for the type of visitation and service (if any) that they have selected.
-Arrange all flowers at the funeral home and/or church, and deliver after the services.
-Provide aftercare literature to the bereaved following the funeral services.


WHAT IS EMBALMING?

It is a process that sanitizes and preserves a dead human body.  It delays the decomposition process and allows time for viewing and services by the family, prior to burial or cremation.  It restores a life-like appearance to the deceased and can enhance the appearance of a person that has undergone a traumatic death or illness.


IS EMBALMING REQUIRED WHEN A PERSON DIES?

It is a requirement of our funeral home if there is to be a public visitation.  If the deceased is to be directly buried, cremated, or viewed briefly by close family members, embalming is not necessary or required. Our funeral home can use refridgeration until the burial or the cremation can take place.


IF I CHOOSE CREMATION, CAN I HAVE A FUNERAL SERVICE?

Yes, Cremation can take place either before or after any type of gathering, visitation, or funeral service.  You can have a public viewing, memorial or funeral service, or burial of the cremated remains.


WHAT HAPPENS TO A PERSON''S REMAINS FOLLOWING CREMATION?

The remains ar placed in either an urn or a temporary container.  The cremated remains can be returned to the family for scattering or kept as a memorial in their home.  Cremated remains can also be buried in a regular cemetery grave or placed in a columbarium at some larger cemeteries.  An urn vault may be purchased for ground burial of the urn.

HOW DO I CHOOSE THE RIGHT CASKET?

There are many styles of caskets. When a casket is chosen, it usually reflects the deceased''s personality, life style religion, organizatioal affiliation or pass time. By personalization of the funeral, even with the casket, it adds more meaning and helps facilitate the healing. The casket can be further personalized by using embroidered interior panels, special decorative hardware and including special keepsakes in the casket. Caskets can also be chosen for there qualities and function. Metal caskets are made of steel, stainless steel, copper or bronze and are chosen for their beauty and protective qualities. Many metal caskets will seal against the entrance of air or water and protect for many years depending on the type and thickness of the metal. Wooden caskets are chosen for their warmth and uniqueness. Because of graining and finish, no two wooden caskets are the same. Wooden casket have the quality of fine furniture and are available in mahogany, walnut, cherry, maple, oak, ash, pecan, poplar and pine.