Should your loved-one pass away, your first step is to contact the appropriate authorities. If your loved-one passes at home while under the care of an in-home healthcare provider or hospice organization, they should be contacted right away. If your loved-one passes at home unexpectedly or not while under the care of in-home healthcare or a hospice organization, 9-1-1 should be contacted. If your loved-one passes away anywhere unexpectedly, 9-1-1 should be contacted. Once the hospital, paramedics, first responders, or other local authority confirms your loved-one’s passing, they will direct you to contact Honor Cremations.

Cremation is a meaningful and honorable option practiced by nearly every culture in some manner. Simply put, cremation is the process in which heat is used to reduce the body of a person who died to ashes that are then placed in an urn for final placement, or disposition. Cremation provides many options for client-families, including keeping their loved-one’s urn at home, placing their urn in a cemetery, and scattering their ashes at sea or someplace special.

A direct, or simple, cremation takes place when a client-family determines to hold a cremation without a prior ceremony, viewing or visitation. This means there is no extensive or invasive preparation such as embalming required. Direct cremation creates the opportunity for a family to plan a meaningful memorial service or celebration of life, with or without the loved-one‘s urn present. A direct cremation with Honor Cremations includes the transportation from the place of passing, filing all required documents with the city, county and state, holding the body in a climate controlled environment until the cremation is scheduled, transportation to and from the crematory, the cremation itself and a simple urn. Client-families have the option of selecting from multiple urns and their preferred form of final disposition.

Water cremation is a gentle alternative to traditional cremation that uses water, temperature, and natural alkalinity to accelerate the process of returning the body to its natural elements. Also known as Alkaline Hydrolysis, Aquamation, Resomation, Bio-Cremation, or Flameless Cremation, it uses significantly less energy than flame-based cremation and has a lower environmental impact. Families receive their loved one's cremated remains in much the same way as with traditional cremation.

Selecting the right funeral home or cremation provider looks different for every family. We recommend selecting a cremation provider whose values, offerings and approach to customer care align with your family’s needs. While doing research online, you might consider narrowing your options by reading a few recent reviews on Yelp or Google in addition to visiting a cremation provider’s website. We then find that a phone call to two or three local establishments can help a family determine which will be the right fit. You may consider preparing a list of five questions for each and comparing before making a decision.

When someone passes away, they are brought into Honor’s care at 1826 Stone Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125. They are held in a secure, controlled environment until the cremation is scheduled. Then, they are transported with care to our cremation partner in the East Bay city of Fremont.

In many instances, Honor can allow for client-families to be present at the crematory to witness their loved one’s cremation. Witnessed cremations are scheduled in advance and at your convenience. This service is available for an additional cost based on the crematory’s charges. Please reach out to the Honor Team if you have additional questions or are interested in witnessing your loved-one’s cremation.

Honor Cremations can cooridnate an identification viewing, simple viewing or a private family viewing before the cremation takes place for an additional cost. The Honor Team will work with you to determine a convenient date and time for the funeral service or private viewing.

Honor Cremations does not charge for removing pacemakers prior to cremation.

Honor Cremations follows a careful identification process starting the moment the body of the person who passed is brought into our care. Each cremation takes place privately with identification verification being completed both before and after the cremation.

Honor is made up of highly compassionate, professional team members who are carefully trained, certified and licensed for their roles. Additionally, Honor Cremations upholds expectations set by the Federal Trade Commission and California Department of Consumer Affairs (Cemetery and Funeral Bureau). Ultimately, our expectation is that each process is carried out as if the next-of-kin were present for each step.