The Cremation Process

Our Guide to Cremation Process

Some people have difficulties understanding the cremation process. In fact, many people believe the process involves an open flame and the burning of the deceased body. However, these theories are myths. The cremation process is executed by funeral home staff with the utmost care and attention to detail.

Cremation is the process of reducing a body to ash by exposing it to very high temperatures. First, the family or next of kin must authorize the body to be cremated. The crematorium operator prepares the body and removes any jewelry, medical devices (i.e. pacemakers), prostheses, and implants. The corpse is placed in a container made of wood or heavy cardboard. The container is then placed into the crematory chamber which is essentially a large furnace. The heat ignites the container and the body begins to dry out. The temperature in the chamber can rise to about 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. It usually takes 2 to 3 hours to fully cremate a body. What’s left is a grey coarse material that feels like a fine gravel. On average, 3 to 9 pounds of ash is produce (Kim, 2018).

What is the Definition of Cremation?

The Cremation Association of North America describes cremation as, "The mechanical and/or thermal or other dissolution process that reduces human remains to bone fragments".  On our page, The Cremation Process, we offer a deeper look at the most common cremation process which uses extreme heat.

As we said earlier, people choose cremation over burial of casketed remains for any combination of reasons. Sometimes it's the simple fear of burial itself, which may stem directly from the Victorian phobia of being buried alive. 

Schepp Funeral Home's Cremation Process

The entire cremation process takes approximately three hours. Throughout the process of cremation, a carefully controlled labeling system ensures correct identification. We provide a temporary cremation urn with all of our direct cremations. A permanent urn can be purchased at the time of cremation or at a later date. Often cremated remains are left in the temporary urn for many months, as a family decides on the desired cremation ceremony. If you have questions about our direct cremation service, just want more information on our steps of cremation, or would like to discuss the reasons behind the cremation ceremony, please contact us.
Cremation process - Dandelion

 4 Steps on How Does Cremation Works

01

The container encasing the human remains is placed in the cremation chamber, where the temperature is raised to approximately 1400 degrees to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. 

02

After about 2 hours, almost all of the organic matter is consumed by heat or evaporation. Bone fragments are what is left over.

03

After a cooling period, these are carefully removed from the cremation chamber. Any metal is removed with a magnet and later disposed of in an approved manner.

04

The cremated remains are then processed into fine particles and are placed in a temporary container provided by the crematory or placed in an urn purchased by the family. 

A Short History of Cremation


All across the world, cremation has been a common way to handle a corpse for many centuries. Cremation started as far back as 20,000 years ago. There is evidence of cremation beginning in Europe roughly around 2,000 B.C. and many scholars believe the practice became quite popular around this time for Europeans. 


Over time, the popularity of cremation began to wane. By the Middle Ages, cremation became a form of punishment and was not viewed as a compassionate way to care for the deceased. However, at the Vienna Exhibition of 1873, Professor Ludovico Brunetti revealed a furnace that he had invented specifically for cremation. Displayed with the furnace were about four pounds of cremated remains. Cremation reclaimed popularity by the late 1800’s and the first official crematory in the United States was constructed in 1876 in Washington, PA by Dr. Julius LeMoyne. 


Cremation’s earliest supporters formed societies and associations, which were fed by the transformation of burial practices. By supporting a society or association, members were not only supporting the building of a crematory in their community, they were also pre-paying for their own cremation. An important way for early cremation supporters to get their message out was through propaganda. Cremation societies often published booklets and pamphlets that featured reasons for choosing cremation over burial, locations of the crematories in the US, opinions of notable persons who supported the movement, and photos of retorts and urn selections. 


By 1913, there were 52 crematories across North America and more than 10,000 cremations occurring annually. The process of cremation as we know it now only began slightly over 100 years ago. As environmental and financial concerns dominate North American culture, cremation is still seeing a drastic rise in popularity. To learn more about why people are choosing cremation please visit the benefits of cremation section of our website.


Additional Guidance

Cremation can be a difficult topic to understand just by reading about it. If you are still looking for additional information about cremation, our staff would be more than happy to provide you with an in-depth explanation of the cremation process. We understand that this particular topic can be difficult to navigate, and we promise to serve you with respect and compassion.

Sources:  

Cremation Association of North America. (2019). Western history of cremation. Retrieved from https://www.cremationassociation.org/page/HistoryOfCremation 

Engler, J. (2019). A brief history of cremation. Retrieved from https://crematorymfgsrv.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203232225-A-Brief-History-of-Cremation  
Sources:
Kim, M. (2018). How cremation works. Retrieved from https://science.howstuffworks.com/cremation1.htm
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