Month: March 2023

Memorial parks are newer types of cemeteries that have bronze memorials rather than tombstones. They typically have expansive lawns, flowering beds, gardens and fountains.

Compared to traditional cemeteries, memorial parks are typically less expensive and do not require ongoing upkeep. They also offer a more private setting for families.

Sprayground

The Sprayground at memorial park is a great place for kids to cool off and play. It’s free and surrounded by playgrounds, picnic areas and other fun amenities.

The Parks and Recreation Department’s water spraygrounds offer an engaging and interactive fun activity year-round for children. They provide an alternative to pools, which are costly and often require regular maintenance.

Ervan Chew Park’s water sprayground opened in 2010. The sprayground features a multi-colored rubber surface and a ground geyser, as well as bell-spray columns, misty arch, fire hydrant activator, raining buckets and an in-ground spray fountain.

It was built through the generosity of H-E-B and is designed to appeal to young people with its colorful play surface and curved seating wall, as well as its inventive water fixtures that are reminiscent of a child’s sense of whimsy. It’s open to the public every day except during park closures or events. The Sprayground also has benches for parents to relax on while watching their children have fun.

Basketball Courts

If you’re looking to get some exercise or just have a picnic, memorial park has several basketball courts available. These are constructed with porous play surfaces that help manage stormwater runoff from surrounding roads and buildings.

City liaison Joe Merucci said the goal has been to add a full court for some time and he expects construction to begin in 2022.

During the summer the park features a sprayground where children can cool off on hot days. There’s also a playground for kids aged two to twelve and other sports like tennis and volleyball.

A permeable macadam basketball court captures stormwater runoff and helps reduce noise. Combined with bio-retention / rain gardens along First Street and the corners of Crystal, the park will manage some 700,000 gallons of water that would otherwise flow into the combined sewer system each year.

Picnic Areas

The aptly named memorial park is a veritable cornucopia of outdoor recreation and entertainment. It boasts an impressive array of amenities including a sprayground, a golf course, several tennis courts and a playground. There’s also a surprisingly extensive network of biking trails that cover a number of city blocks.

There are a handful of fun and exciting attractions to be found in the city’s parks and recreation facilities, but the top notch picnic area is by far the best place to eat your lunch or bbq a pig on a stick. The aforementioned area features some of the largest and most comfortable outdoor seating in town. Located in the middle of an extensive green space, this spot is a must visit for families on a budget or those looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. The aforementioned area is free and open to the public.

Memorial Walls

The Memorial Walls at memorial park are a permanent tribute to the lives of our loved ones. Each family has the opportunity to inscribe their loved one’s name on the Memorial Wall.

The two 200-foot-long walls contain more than 58,000 names. They are arranged in a ‘v’ shape with one end pointing toward the Washington Monument and the other towards the Lincoln Memorial.

These walls are made from a shiny black granite that is reflective of the light. Visitors can see a reflection of themselves in the name on the wall and feel a connection with those lost.

There is also a bronze statue, “The Three Soldiers,” which depicts the contrasting ethic groups in the war. It is a reminder of the great sacrifice that is made by our men and women in uniform.

The death of a loved one is an emotional and difficult time for everyone. However, planning ahead and making decisions in advance can help ease the burden during this difficult time.

Funeral arrangements should be made with a funeral director in accordance with your wishes and the wishes of your family. It is important to compare prices and services of funeral establishments before selecting the right one for your needs.

Preparation

Preparation for a funeral is often a time of grief, and the responsibility can be overwhelming. But with a little planning, it can be a more manageable task.

Start by choosing a location for the service. Whether you want to have the service at home, the crematorium or somewhere else, it’s important to decide on a suitable venue.

You may also want to choose music for the funeral service. Picking songs that reflect the person’s hobbies or interests can help to make the funeral more personal and meaningful.

Lastly, you may want to make an obituary or write a death notice. This will communicate the preference for flowers or donations to charity organizations and other wishes. It will also let people know when the funeral service will take place.

Arrangements

Arrangements include selecting a casket, outer burial container or alternate container and deciding how to dispose of cremains. Funeral directors may help you with these choices, or you can work with a third-party provider that coordinates these services for a fee.

Funeral homes offer basic and extra funeral arrangements services. They can also arrange for transportation and lodging for out-of-town guests, a post-funeral reception, and cemetery or crematory services.

Funeral homes must provide you with a general price list and an itemized statement of prices for the goods and services they provide. This information must be made available to you before a discussion or selection of a casket or outer burial container occurs.

Services

Funeral bureaus provide a variety of services and merchandise for the convenience of their clients. These services and merchandise may include things such as transportation, crematory fees, permits, obituaries, flowers, honorariums, certified death certificates and more.

Whether you are making arrangements for yourself or a loved one, it is important to ask questions and compare prices and services. This will help you make informed decisions that are meaningful to your family and control the costs for yourself and your survivors.

The State Board of Funeral Service licenses and regulates funeral directors, embalmers and funeral establishments. This helps to ensure that the public is treated with dignity and respect when they lose a loved one. It also investigates consumer complaints and takes appropriate disciplinary action when acceptable standards are not met.

Merchandise

Funeral merchandise is any per- sonal property sold by a funeral establishment for use in connection with a funeral or disposition of human remains. It includes, but is not limited to, caskets and alternative containers; clothing; memorial folders; monuments; outer burial containers; prayer cards and register books; cremation interment containers; flowers; and urns.

Funeral homes must offer you a General Price List (GPL) before you meet with the funeral director or select any goods or services. The GPL must include the retail prices for all items regularly offered for sale.

Preneed

Preneed plans are a popular way for people to save money and avoid the stress of funeral planning after the death of a loved one. These contracts allow you to decide on the services you want, and then pay a set amount into a trust administered by the funeral home.

The funds in the preneed account are held in an interest-bearing account with a separate financial institution. You can change to another funeral home without penalty, if the contract is revocable, or request a refund of the principal and interest earned at any time.

A mortuary is a place where deceased bodies are stored prior to burials or cremations. They offer embalming and direct cremation services, as well as a variety of funeral related services.

Mortuary science programs teach students the biology of a body and the restoration arts such as embalming and dissection. They also learn about ethics and grief counseling.

Embalming

Embalming is a funeral practice that delays the natural process of decay and allows the body to be viewed by family members before burial. It has been practiced for thousands of years and is commonly carried out to ensure a body can be displayed as part of a funeral ceremony or kept preserved for medical research.

There are several steps to embalming that take place before the body is prepared for viewing. First, the body is washed with an antiseptic solution to sanitize it and remove any lingering odors.

Next, the limbs are massaged to alleviate the symptoms of rigor mortis and to soften the stiff joints and muscles. The eyes are closed using a specialized eye cap, the mouth is shaved and wired into position, and the lower jaw is secured in place.

The body is then injected with embalming fluid. This chemical solution is designed to replace the blood and other bodily fluids with formaldehyde-based chemicals. It is often dyed to give the body a pinkish glow.

Burial

Burial, also called inhumation or entombment, is the practice of burying a dead human being. Burying is a cultural practice that reflects the desire to show respect for the dead.

It can be done in various ways depending on the culture and religion. In many cultures, the body is dressed up and presented in an attractive casket before being laid to rest.

Another common way of burying a deceased is in an earthen burial pit or grave. These may be covered by soil or a grave cloak (also called a burial shroud).

In Christian tradition, bodies are usually buried oriented east to west with feet at the eastern end and head at the western end so that they can rise facing the east upon the call of Gabriel’s trumpet. This is believed to help in their resurrection.

Cremation

Cremation is a dignified way to honor your loved one’s life. It is also an environmentally responsible alternative to burial.

The body is placed in a container (such as a casket suitable for cremation) and then placed in a special furnace called a retort at a temperature of over 1400 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat dries the body, burns it, vaporizes and calcifies soft tissues, and reduces it to 3-7 pounds of bone fragments.

During cremation, all non-natural pieces of metal from jewellery, dental fillings, and surgical implants are separated and permanently disposed of. Mechanical devices like pacemakers are removed to avoid explosions during the process and to protect staff and equipment from injury.

The remains of the body are then ground to a finer consistency with a machine called a cremulator. The resulting cremains are then presented to the family. These can be stored in an urn, displayed as a keepsake, or interred in a cemetery.

Funeral Services

Funeral services are a time to honor the deceased, reflect on their life and give them a final goodbye. Whether held at a funeral home, church or cemetery, the service provides a place to say goodbye and show support for the family.

A traditional funeral includes a viewing or visitation, a funeral ceremony and burial at the gravesite. The funeral may include music, reading of a religious or literary passages, a eulogy and prayer.

Many funeral homes also offer educational events and seminars that provide valuable planning information. Topics can range from advance health care directives to senior safety tips and understanding Medicaid.