Types of Service

Visitations

A visitation is a gathering held before the funeral service. In a traditional visitation, the deceased’s remains are present and the casket can be open or closed for viewing. Many believe this is a time to say goodbye and provides family and friends a chance to accept the loss and gain a sense of closure. For others, it is an opportunity to express condolences to the family of the deceased.

Funeral Services

A funeral service is a service where the remains are present. The funeral service is held shortly after the death occurs. The service can be held in a church, funeral home or in a cemetery chapel. Some services include a message, most services focus on the life of the deceased. Friends and/or family members may choose to memorialize their loved ones by commemorating a special remembered moment or something the person has done in their life. Memory tables, picture boards, tribute videos, special music can also be used to share the unique life of the loved one. It allows the attendees to remember the important times and special memories connected with their loved one.

Memorial Services

A memorial service is a service where there are no remains of the deceased. Memorial services can be held in churches, funeral homes and in cemetery chapels. The service can also be held in a location meaningful to the deceased family. The memorial service can be held at any time and is not required to be held shortly after the death. Much like a funeral, the memorial service provides the family with an opportunity to commemorate the life of their loved one again through the use of memory tables, picture boards, tribute videos, and/or special music.

Gravesite Services

A gravesite service is a service held at the site of the burial. Usually it is a short service where family and friends say their final goodbyes. In most cases, the casket or urn is present. Often a eulogy is delivered concluded with a committal and a prayer. The term committal refers to the body of the deceased being committed to the ground or placed in a crypt or niche. Gravesite services can be held instead of a formal funeral service.

Role of the Cemetery

Garland Brook Cemetery provides a permanent place to memorialize the deceased. Garland Brook is a well-kept places of respect, peace and beauty. We hold a repository of accumulated deeds and history of a given area.

A primary responsibility of the cemetery is to provide for the perpetual care of the gravesites. We are required to build endowment funds, which provide the funds for maintaining the grounds into perpetuity.

In selecting a cemetery, you will be offered a variety of types of spaces from single gravesites to family gravesites. The type of memorialization can also vary by cemetery—monuments and markers often vary by sections of the cemetery. Cemetery charges include price of the property, a vault which protects the casket, a marker/monument and a charge for opening and closing the gravesite. The vault is required as an outer burial receptacle that is designed to encase the casket and is capable of withstanding the weight and pressures of the earth above and around the casket. It also protects against moisture and elements of the subsoil placement of the casket.

Garland Brook Cemetery offers chapel and gravesite services, and a place to hold an after-the-service gathering. We have in-ground and mausoleum-crypts and niches burial spaces, which can be either indoor or outdoor.

Garland Brook is divided into large sections. Each section has rules that govern the type of memorial that can be placed on the burial property.

Monuments

Traditionally families will choose an upright memorial for their lot which bears the family name. Individual names and dates can also be inscribed on the monument or head/foot markers can memorialize the individual burial spaces.

Bronze Flat Markers (lawn-level)

Garland Brook Cemetery has sections that allow flat markers only. This is generally the most economical form of memorialization.