We invite you to explore the many unique ways to celebrate and honor a life.

Whether you choose burial or cremation, having a service to honor life, and a permanent place to visit remains, is an essential part of the healing process. We’ll educate you on the traditional and nontraditional inclusions in these ceremonies—and help you design an observance that’s as unique as the life it’s about.

Take a look inside our unique approach.

There are two facets of the design process. First, we ask you to consider how you wish to honor and celebrate the life. When those important decisions are made, we’ll turn to the issue of how you wish to care for the physical remains.

It’s about bringing those you love together, at a time of loss. It’s a natural thing to do, and over time, has become a socially-expected practice. More importantly, a funeral or memorial service, whether traditional, or contemporary, is the first step in healing.

You can have your service anywhere, and any way, you want. Your choices include the place of celebration, day of the week, and time of day; the musical selection, what prayers will be said or songs you’d like sung. We can arrange to have doves, butterflies, or balloons released at the close of the service. Keepsake gifts of wildflower seeds or a tree seedling can be given. We’re here to help you create the most memorable and meaningful service to honor your loved one.

Your next consideration focuses on choosing between burial and cremation. Usually, people are clear on this point. In fact, your loved one may have told you, or someone else, exactly how they wish to be cared for. But it can be a hard decision for some families, especially when the wishes of the deceased were never clearly stated. If that’s the case, please know we’re able to help you come to the perfect decision for your loved one, and for you.

Once you decide, the finer details come into focus. If you’ve chosen burial, then selection of the casket, vault, and desired cemetery follows. Naturally, we’re here to help you.

If cremation is your choice, then you’ll need to make the next decision: whether the cremated remains will be placed in a mausoleum niche, or buried on the cemetery grounds.

In some communities, there’s the option for a ‘green burial.’ If that’s what your loved one would prefer, we’ll help you select an environmentally-friendly choice.

There are few decisions in life as personal as deciding where you wish to be permanently memorialized. After all, it is a decision that extends into the lifetimes of your children and grandchildren – where do you wish them to go to honor your memory and share their emotions?

Deciding on the type of memorial property is a very personal decision. Van Hoose & Steele Funeral Home provides a setting where meditation, reflection, remembrance, and healing can take place.

Mausoleums allow for above ground entombment in either community buildings or specially designed family structures. At one time the advantages of mausoleum entombment were available only to royalty, the famed or the very wealthy. Well-known mausoleums include the Taj Mahal, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Egyptian Pyramids. Mausoleum property is now affordable to most everyone.

The mausoleum at Van Hoose & Steele Funeral Home is a community mausoleum with crypt spaces and cremation niche sections. Private family mausoleum property is also available. These mausoleums are individually designed, custom-built and personalized to reflect the traditions and values of the individual.

Cremation niches, including those with glass front panels, are available in our mausoleum, and in our outdoor cremation Water Garden. We also provide bench, tree, and statue memorial interment of cremated remains.

Once you’ve explored the world of possibilities, map out the personalized services that speak to you. There’s no option that’s too grand or too unique. We want to make your wishes a reality.