Debaptiste Funeral Home In West Chester Pennsylvania (2024)

FAQs

Can you have food at a funeral home in PA? ›

A food may not be served to the public in any part of a funeral establishment. Nonalcoholic beverages may be served in an area approved by the Board. A funeral director or employe shall take the proper steps for personal sanitation before serving or dispensing a permitted beverage to the public.

Once a funeral home has picked up the body and brought it to their facility, they will then clean and dress and/or shroud the body. Afterward, the body will be placed in refrigeration to keep it cool until the day of burial, at which point the body will be transported to the burial site.

"The original Kirk & Nice funeral home opened in Philadelphia over 250 years ago, and is America's oldest funeral home. Relocating to the grounds of George Washington Memorial Park in 1999, Kirk & Nice Inc. continues providing quality service to Philadelphia and surrounding region."

If there is no one named, then the surviving spouse of the deceased is given this responsibility by default. In the event that there is no spouse, under Pennsylvania law the responsibility passes to the next of kin. This can be a parent, sibling, child, grandchild, or another relative.

The cost of the repast is usually covered by the loved one's family, though a fraternity or sorority group, Sunday school class, trade union or other group your loved one belonged to might sponsor the repast as a gift to the family.

Leaving food at the wake helps the deceased stay well-fed in the afterlife. So, mourners who bring take-home food from the wake will either bring bad luck with them or be followed home by the dead.

What's the Average Time a Funeral Home Holds a Body? Between the time of death and the funeral service, most bodies remain in a funeral home between 3 and 7 days. However, there are a lot of tasks that need to be completed in this time frame, so it's easy for the service to get delayed by extenuating circ*mstances.

Embalming is not a legal requirement according to federal law, but it is Kuhn Funeral Home's recommendation that a family allow us to perform the embalming when planning a public, open casket viewing.

Morticians will keep the body in a fridge at two degrees Celsius instead of preparing the body with chemicals. However, you need to keep in mind that a refrigerated corpse will only last for three to four weeks.

Who owns most of the funeral homes? ›

You may find it surprising that less than 80% of funeral homes in the U.S. are privately owned by families, individuals or small chains. Even more surprising is that more than 20% of all funeral homes in the country are owned by large corporations.

The term funeral parlor (or parlour) was often used in the name of funeral businesses, as it was already associated with end-of-life events. The first funeral parlor or funeral home, Kirk & Nice Funeral Home, actually opened in Philadelphia, Penn., in 1777, and is still in operation today.

There are no state laws in Pennsylvania prohibiting home burial, but local governments may have rules governing private burials. Before burying a body on private property or establishing a family cemetery, you should check with the county or town clerk for any zoning laws you must follow.

Legally, it is up to the deceased's executor or personal representative to make decisions about their funeral and burial, although executors often feel morally bound to follow the testator's wishes.

According to funeral price surveys in Pennsylvania, the average cost of a full-service cremation is $6,515, and the average cost for a direct cremation is $2,456*.