From facilities and equipment, to the services of our staff, to selected merchandise, we allow you the freedom to choose what is right for you and your family. You will not be charged for services and items you do not receive. We supply you with a complete list of all services and charges on our Statement of Goods and Services.
We understand that every family is different. Influences such as religious and cultural traditions, costs concerns and personal preferences make each funeral or memorial service as unique as the person who is being honored. The following is an overview of the different types of services that we provide. One of our funeral directors will discuss the many other options and details that make each of our services a personal, lasting tribute to your loved one.

Traditional Service
A traditional funeral service includes a viewing or visitation, a formal funeral service (at the funeral home, local church or location of your choice) and the necessary automotive equipment, such as a hearse to transport the body to the funeral site and cemetery. It is customary to purchase items such as a memorial register book, memorial folders and acknowledgement cards. Floral tributes are often displayed and you are encouraged to bring in photographs and other memorabilia to further personalize the service.

Graveside Service
A graveside service is held at the burial site. This service may be limited to the immediate family or open to all. After the service, there are options for a memorial service at the funeral home chapel, church or venue of choice.

Memorial Service
A memorial service is conducted without the body present and can vary in ceremony and procedures. It can be held at the funeral home or at a location of your choice. In order to create a memorial service that is as unique as your loved one, we encourage you to help personalize the service with memorabilia, photographs and other personal items.

Cremation Services
We offer a variety of cremation options to fit your needs, ranging from basic direct cremation (without visitation or services) to customized cremation services with visitation and a funeral or memorial service.

There are four main options when cremation is chosen:
•Cremation following a traditional service, which may include viewing 
•Cremation following a viewing only
•Cremation preceding or following a memorial service or reception
•Cremation when a decision has been made not to have services

Following the cremation process the remains may be:
•Buried in the ground
•Placed in a columbarium niche
•Memorialized in other ways
•Scattered
•Divided with a portion being buried or placed in a niche and a portion scattered or memorialized in
       another way.

Can Catholics Cremate?
In a word - yes. The 1983 Code of Canon Law, in canon 1176, states: "The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the dead be observed; it does not, however, forbid cremation unless it has been chosen for reasons which are contrary to Christian teaching."

If cremation is chosen, the Church prefers that the body of the deceased be present during the funeral rites with cremation taking place later. However, if this not possible, a funeral may take place in a church with the cremated remains present. The remains are then to be buried with full reverence in a cemetery or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium and, whenever possible, a plaque or stone bearing the name of the deceased should mark the site.

The Church does not approve of scattering remains, as it does not believe that scattering meets the requirements of reverent disposition.

Ecclesiastical law prohibits burying cadavers in churches, and canon 1205 S2 includes bones or ashes in its definition of cadaver. Thus parish churches are prohibited from having a columbarium. However, many cemeteries have them and are pleased to assist members of the Catholic Church to meet Church law with reverent placement and appropriate memorialization.

Scattering
Despite the Hollywood image of scattering cremated remains by throwing up a fine powder which wafts away on the breeze, scattering is more like disposing of several pounds of dry white rice mixed with several ounces of fine powder, and which, rather than wafting away, is more likely to fall to the ground in a heap.

Although they are sometimes called "ashes", cremated remains are not ash. They consist of 6 to 8 pounds of bone fragments, which usually have been mechanically reduced to the texture of coarse beach sand and have a volume of approximately 200 cubic inches (about the size of a shoe box). This should be kept in mind when you are selecting a scattering site. You may wish to ask someone who is not a direct relative of the deceased to handle the actual scattering process because of the intense emotions that scattering sometimes brings up.

The federal government has regulations regarding the disposal of cremated remains and many local jurisdictions require notification and permits, as well as restricting the areas where remains may be scattered or otherwise disposed of. You will probably wish to confer with a cemetery or crematory for current information about those regulations.

Scattering on private property may only be done with the permission of the property owner. It has become fashionable with some people to scatter cremated remains at sites sacred to Native Americans. In many cases this is inappropriate to their traditional beliefs and is equivalent to scattering someone's remains over a church altar. Permission should be sought before disposing of remains in this way.

Cremated remains are almost pure calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate and are thus alkaline. If they are to be scattered in a garden or used in planting a tree, you will need to be sure that the plants chosen are not acid-loving or alkali-intolerant. The scattering gardens in cemeteries are designed with this in mind. If you are not sure, contact a local nursery and ask about the alkali tolerance of the plants you prefer. It is worth noting that many of the natural species in the Pacific Northwest are acid-loving plants and do not normally do well if they receive a large dose of alkali such as cremated remains.


Memorialization
Memorials, whether formal or informal, are a way for us to psychologically attach our visualization of the deceased to a particular place or thing. This can help us grieve, because it gives us a place to visit where we can spend quiet time remembering the departed.

Cremation memorialization can be formal or informal, or even both by dividing the remains in a process called "apportionment".

Formal memorialization can consist of:
•Placing the inurned remains into a niche in a columbarium
•Burying the remains in a cemetery with a memorial plaque over them
•Scattering the remains in a cremation garden with a memorial plaque nearby
•Scattering the remains elsewhere, but placing a plaque in a columbarium or memorial garden
•Wearing or displaying a "pinch" of remains in apportionment jewelry

Informal memorialization can consist of:
•Donations to a favorite charity
•Planting a tree
•Your chosen funeral home or cemetery should be able to advise you of the many ways you can
       memorialize the person who has died.

Costs
Since such a wide variety of services and merchandise are included in the charges of different funeral homes, no direct comparisons should be made without a thorough investigation. When comparing prices ask a consistent set of questions and be sure to ask about the following:
•Cost of removal of the remains including any additional night/weekend/holiday charges
•Temporary care costs
•Cost of the cremation process itself
•Cost of the cremation container
•Cost of the container or urn in which cremated remains will be returned
•What other costs are involved
•Terms of payment

Cremated remains may be buried in a regular ground burial space, buried in an area set aside for cremated remains, or placed in a niche. Many cemeteries allow cremated remains to be placed in a burial space with the remains of a relative.

For specific cost information it is normally best to speak directly with an experienced funeral director or cemetery manager.
Family Owned & Operated
301.404.2207
301.322.3050
9013 Annapolis Road
Lanham, Maryland 20756
24 Hours
SERVICES
At Latimore Funeral Services we provide a wide range of options to allow each family to make the choices that are best for them. We are flexible and can accommodate any faith or ritual to do and serve the special wishes of the families and take care of all details.

Our firm is committed to a team approach to efficiently provide dignified professional funeral services to families.  We provide a  level of service characterized by listening, caring, and counseling our families,.  We take pride in providing personalized and sympathetic services to all families.
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