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Every person who comes through the doors of Norris Funeral Home receives the same attentive service. First and foremost, we listen to you, provide suggestions and guidance if needed, and offer heartfelt compassion. No other funeral home in our area knows you like we do. We’ve been in this area for a long time, and deeply value our connection to those who live here.
We keenly know that decision-making during the hours following the loss of a loved one is difficult. We offer the extensive information below because we know that many are not fully aware of the services available today. We hope it helps make your funeral planning just that much easier.
We are honored to offer the following services:
 Funerals are an important step in the grieving process, as well as an opportunity to honor a life lived. They offer surviving family members and friends a caring, supportive environment in which to share thoughts and feelings about the death. Often funerals are the first step in the healing process.
Traditional Funerals
The advantage to choosing a traditional funeral is it follows a familiar pattern so families will know what to expect. A traditional funeral can make it easier for families and friends, because there's an established etiquette for the different stages of the ceremonies involved.
- Visitations or gatherings
- A formal service in a funeral home or church
- Procession with a hearse to escort your loved one to a cemetery
- Earth burial or entombment of the casketed remains in a mausoleum
Some of the costs associated with a traditional funeral will include:
- Personal services of the funeral director
- Embalming, dressing, cosmetology and hair arrangement
- Use of funeral home for visitations and the funeral service
- Hearse and other funeral vehicles
- Casket, vault and other goods and services
Personalized Funerals
We take great care to offer services to those in our community who are seeking more personal ways to express grief and say goodbye to a loved one. We do not seek only to ‘dress up’ the traditional funeral services, but listen closely to our families, and create truly unique, completely personal services for your loved one.
Some popular ways in which our client families have personalized funerals include:
- Display arts, crafts, or other personal artifacts that were cherished by the deceased
- Lead the funeral procession past some of the deceased's favorite spots.
- Hold the funeral in a favorite spot of the deceased, especially if he or she was not a churchgoer.
- Playing favorite songs during the visitation or service.
- Releasing balloons, at the interment, as a celebration of the life and ethereal spirit of the deceased.
- Presentation of a personalized photo display, digital or video memorial.
- Family and friends are invited to write letters containing their unspoken thoughts, which are then placed in the casket with the deceased.
- Online guest books. All comments left by web site visitors are noted to the funeral register for the family.
- Live music played at services.
- Audio recording of the services.
Direct (Immediate) Burials
Direct burial includes local transfer of the deceased to the funeral home, required authorizations, services of funeral director and staff, transportation of the deceased to local area cemetery. Our prices do not include cemetery charges.
All honorably discharged veterans qualify for military funeral honors and veteran benefits, regardless of their rank or the place of burial.
The following groups are also eligible for military honors:
- Military members on active duty or in the Selected Reserve.
- Former military members who served on active duty and departed under conditions other than dishonorable.
- Former military members who completed at least one term of enlistment or a period of initial obligated service in the Selected Reserve, and who departed under conditions other than dishonorable.
- Former military members discharged from the Selected Reserve due to a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.
Personalized Complete Care
Those who serve in the military may be eligible for special funeral and burial benefits because of their honorable service. Our staff is experienced in completing the necessary paperwork involved, and gladly takes the responsibility to do so – relieving the family of this burdensome task.
We at Norris Funeral Home, are completely committed to providing families of the veterans in our community with unsurpassed service.
Specialized Veterans’ Services and Merchandise
Our Veterans may be honored by the local VFW/American Legion honor guards. We also coordinate with military brances and their honor guard specially trained in funeral procedure. They are pretty impressive, actually.
Flag folders
Military emblems on caskets and vaults
Printed prayer cards, memorial folders, obituary bookmarks, and register books, all displaying the proper military insignia.
 If your loved one dies far from St. Charles, we will help you return their body to you. And, should you wish a loved one returned to their birthplace, or to another location for interment or entombment, we can make all the arrangements for you. Call us to discuss your needs.
Limited Services Options
Every family is unique. We listen not only with our ears, but with our hearts and will consider all your financial and emotional constraints in designing a funeral or memorial service that suits your needs. No matter what your budget or your vision for your loved one’s service, we’re here to help.
Tribute Videos
Our Life Tributes program offers a customized and animated video and a dedicated website honoring your loved one’s life. Each part of the Life Tributes program uses photos of your loved one combined with one of our various themes to create a memorial DVD that is yours to keep. This can be shown at the viewing or at a funeral service and can be viewed online.
Personalized Register Books
Families have a choice of several register books that provide a place for visitors to sign in at services. The books are personalized for each individual with a memory page and a page for a family record. Funeral service and burial place information are also recorded in the register book.
Memorial Folders
We create folders to distribute to friends and family at services or to include in thank you notes. These folders contain a verse chosen by the family along with information about the loved one. A photo of the loved one may be included in the folders.
Standard selections are included at no extra charge.
Prayer Cards
Prayer cards are personalized with birth and death information about your loved one. A verse, chosen by the family, is printed on the cards. These availalbe at services and many families choose to have extra cards printed to give to those who may not have been able to attend services.
Standard selections are included at no extra charge.
Thank You Notes
Thank you notes or acknowledgement cards may be personalized for our families. There is a large choice of designs for the note cards and the cards contain a message that is chosen by the family. We are able to make these note cards available to the family long after the service is over.
Standard selections are included at no extra charge.
Keepsake Tributes
Various keepsake urns and jewelry are available for families who wish to memorialize portions of cremated remains.
Personalized Bookmarks
Laminated bookmarks with copies of the obituary may be created for our families.
Balloon Release
We can arrange for balloons to be released at the interment to celebrate the life and spirit of your loved one.
Live Musicians
Arrangements can be made to have local musicians perform during services at some churches, funeral home and cemetery. Most familiar songs can be requested.
 Cremation refers to the way in which you choose to handle the physical remains of you or your loved one. Whether you choose burial, or cremation, you can still have a traditional funeral, or a simple memorial service, with or without the cremated remains.
You can also select direct cremation, which includes local transfer of the deceased to the funeral home, required authorizations, services of a funeral director and staff, transportation of the deceased to local crematory, an alternative container for cremation and the return of the cremains to the funeral home.
If you want to arrange a direct cremation, you can use an alternative container. Alternative containers encase the body and can be made of materials like fiberboard or composition materials.
Traditional Funeral with cremation
Many people come to us believing that cremation means that you can’t have a funeral or memorial service. This is simply not true; we can assist you in arranging for a traditional funeral or memorial service, performed either before, or after the scheduled cremation. Should you and your family wish to have a traditional funeral for your loved one; our staff can make all the arrangements, including:
- Visitation or gathering
- A formal service may be at a funeral home, church, or other venue.
Memorial Services
Where a traditional funeral follows a patterned order of activities, including prayers, eulogies, songs, and in some cases, processionals; a memorial service can be less structured by religious or social constraints. Our staff can help you to plan the perfect memorial service for your loved one, including:
- Non-traditional locations
- Tribute videos
- Memory Boards
- Keepsakes
- Displays of medals, awards, or other memorabilia
- Personalized music selection
As with all of the services we offer, our expert staff will help your family design a truly memorable memorial service that reflects the life of your loved one.
Additionally, we will work with your family to plan a suitable service that suits your budget. After all, we believe that you shouldn't have to pay a fortune to celebrate the treasured life of your loved one.
To learn more about the wide variety of memorial service options we offer, give us a call or stop by. One of our caring staff members will guide you through the array of memorial services we offer and help you plan a truly distinctive service for your loved one.
Direct Cremations
Often, the family elects to have their loved one taken directly to the crematory, without a funeral or memorial service. It is our intention that you or your loved one receives the services you desire – no more, and no less. Should you desire an informal, heart-driven ceremony at the crematory for your immediate family, we will be honored to facilitate this decision. We may be able to assist you in a graveside committal service.
Caskets
Metal caskets – whether made from bronze, copper or steel, metal caskets are known for their durability and beauty. Bronze and copper are naturally non-rusting. Stainless and carbon steel caskets come in a variety of grades, gauges, styles and finishes.
Hardwood caskets include a variety of woods: mahogany, walnut, cherry, maple, oak, pecan, poplar, and pine. These caskets are the choice of families who appreciate and cherish the qualities of natural wood. The warmth and beauty wood ideally suits it for the construction of quality caskets.
Cloth covered caskets are made from corrugated fiberboard, pressed wood or softwoods, which are then covered with cloth and contain finished interiors. As a result of the construction methods and materials used in their manufacturing process, cloth covered caskets are modestly priced and offer an economical choice for families.
Vaults
A burial vault is a sturdy box designed to protect the casket inside of it. Vaults are made of concrete, plastic or metal. In many cases, cemeteries require a vault to keep the ground over grave sites from sinking, giving the ground a neat and even appearance. Our staff can help you select both a casket and a suitable vault.
Urns
When choosing cremation, many people neglect to consider the wide variety of urns available today, and simply fall back on the traditional wooden box or ceramic vessel. We offer a beautiful array of unique urns, including the newest in biodegradable urns used in scatterings at sea, or interment in green cemeteries.
We also offer hand-blown glass, companion, oriental cloisonne, and marble urns. Our professional staff can help you to select the perfect urn for you, or your loved one. Call us today at 630-584-2000 for an in-depth conversation about the possibilities – they’re as endless as your imagination.
Cremation Option Caskets or Alternative Caskets
Made from corrugated fiberboard or pressed wood, these containers are designed for transportation of the body to the crematorium, and to act as a container for the remains during the cremation process.
Transfer Containers
When a body is being shipped from one location to another, a transfer container is used to protect it during the course of the journey.
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