More people opting for cremation over traditional burial

Across the country, more people are choosing cremation over traditional burials, and local funeral homes are seeing a similar trend. But it does vary among different people in the Coachella Valley. Joel Casillas has owned Casillas Family Funeral Homes in Coachella for more that 20 years. Recently, he has had more people look to cremation as opposed to traditional burial.
“Some is economical and some people are doing it because there is a lot less space in the cemetary, so they think that they will do cremation,” Casillas said. Last year, more than 48 percent of bodies in the country were cremated, according to the Cremation Association of North America. Cremation rates have climbed steadily by a couple of percentage points every year. Even the Catholic Church is looking at being laid to rest differently. Recently, the Vatican made changes in the rules regarding cremation saying under certain circumstances Catholics can be cremated, but the ashes should be put in a sacred space such as a cemetery and should never be scattered. According to Casillas, areas with a high Hispanic population tend to be more traditional, but those traditions are slightly changing. With the high cost of burying a loved one in a cemetery some are opting for cremation after having a regular service with a rented casket. And that’s saving a lot of money. “If you do a cremation with a viewing, with what the tradition would be without the cemetery, you are looking at about $3,200 where if you are doing a burial at the cemetery, that’s almost $6,000,” Casillas said. Some are opting to have a cremation and then bury the ashes, which takes up much less space so it’s cheaper. Casillas says the most important thing is for families to have what can be a difficult conversation. Iron out exactly the wishes for each person and have a plan or even specific arrangement well before they’re needed. JOE GALLI CAN BE FOUND ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.