SERVICES WE PROVIDE 
Erman Smith Funeral Home offers a full range of funeral arrangements. Our staff members will be glad to help you arrange a traditional funeral service, a non-traditional or special service, a memorial service, a cremation, or any type of service and/or disposition you wish.

TRADITIONAL SERVICES
A traditional funeral service usually includes several common elements. A gathering of family members and friends is held at a place of worship or at the funeral home. Most often the casketed body is present, and the family decides whether the casket will be open or closed. There is a defined order to the service which is usually followed by burial, but in some traditions may be followed by cremation. Traditional services can be very simple as well as quite elaborate. Erman Smith Funeral Home can help you decide on a service that will best meet your needs.

MEMORIAL SERVICES
Today there are many ways to celebrate a life that was lived and also to begin adjusting to the loss that has occurred. Memorial services and receptions can be simplified versions of traditional services, or they may be specially planned for unique individuals or circumstances. There are no absolute standards for a non-traditional service. Erman Smith Funeral Home's experienced Funeral Directors will help you explore the alternatives which are best for your family.

A memorial service may include:
• A service in a funeral chapel, with or without the casket present.
• A service or gathering at a meaningful location such as a workplace, favorite park, or even camping spot.
• An open house at home or at a favorite gathering place.
• A gathering of a social group that was closely associated with the deceased.

Photographs of the deceased, memorabilia from his or her life, mementos or perhaps even hobby items may be brought to the location of the gathering as a means of focusing on the person being remembered. It is a common practice at these gatherings for family members, friends, or an officiant to present a program during which people exchange favorite stories of the deceased and reflect on his or her contributions to family, friends, and community.

VIDEO TRIBUTE

A video tribute can be made of past pictures of a loved one set to music and recorded to DVD to be shown during the visitation. The funeral director can discuss your options during the arrangement conference.

START CREATING A PREARRANGEMENT PLAN TODAY.

Funerals are really for the living.

While this may be difficult to understand, the fact is that funerals are for those suffering the trauma of a death, whether it be the loss of a family member or friend.

A funeral should be considered as other celebrations and ceremonies in our lives…simply a rite of passage. A funeral is a public declaration and celebration of a life that was lived and a death that has occurred. By offering family and friends the opportunity to gather, we also offer hope of healing the pain and trauma associated with death. Funerals often signify the beginning of the healing process. As an acknowledgment and understanding of the loss, a funeral or memorial service allows friends and family members to move through the natural period of grief.

By prearranging your own service, you can express your personal preferences, likes and dislikes, as well as your hopes and desires. Funeral prearrangement also enables one to exert a type of control over the last event of his or her life. But, most of all, it eases the burden for those making tough decisions for a loved one's funeral service during a time of grief and stress.

From our long experience in helping families make funeral arrangements during a time of sorrow, we know that it is better to plan a funeral before the need arises. There are also financial advantages in prearranging a funeral. The price of the funeral is fully determined and will not increase or be affected by inflation as time goes by. If you would like more information about prearrangement planning, please contact us. It is a helpful service we are pleased to offer at Erman Smith Funeral Home.

Select From Several Prearrangement Options:

 
THE FULLY-FUNDED PLAN
With this method, the individual plans and pays for the entire service in advance. This freezes the cost at today's prices, never to increase, even though it may be years before the funeral takes place.
 
INSURANCE-FUNDED
With the help of a trained counselor, you select the funeral service best for you. An insurance policy underwrites the cost of the funeral and merchandise. 
 
NO-COST PREARRANGEMENT
We help you plan the entire service. But full payment is deferred until the time of your death. We provide you with a copy of your instructions, and we keep the original in our files. All your next-of-kin needs to do is contact us when appropriate.
 
Thoughtful prearrangement does the following:

Relieves loved ones from having to make difficult decisions during an already stressful time.
Removes a financial burden from those you love.
Conserves estate money for other purposes.
Allows you and your family to decide— in advance—details such as music, type of service, burial arrangements, visitation, flowers, etc.
Provides true peace of mind…for you and your family.

More information regarding the purchase of prepaid funeral benefits can be found at www.prepaidfunerals.texas.gov

Why is a Funeral Service Important?
In the earliest recorded times, societies honored the dead through ceremonies that, according to beliefs at that time, were to properly send the deceased on the journey into the next life.

Today we know that the benefits of the funeral are for those left behind and who must reconstruct their lives following their loss. Before family and friends can fully adjust to their loss, survivors must express their grief in ways meaningful to them. They must face, openly and realistically, the fact that death has indeed occurred. The funeral provides the opportunity to do exactly that.