Those Important Questions

If there is no pre-arrangements in place, there are several other questions that you will need to have answered in regards to the death of your loved one:

• Do I have to have embalming?
• Do I need to purchase a casket?
• What about cemetery arrangements?
• Does the family have to engage the services of a minister?
• What type of service should we have?

By contacting our staff, we'll be able to help answer your questions and assist in making the appropriate plans. You can reach us at (707) 425-4697.

However, as we’ve said before, one of the best ways to make sure that all of your questions and desires are taken care of is to make pre-arrangements. This is as simple as outlining your wishes to having all of the details written down and the financial arrangements prepaid. Please contact one of our staff at (707) 425-4697 to learn more about pre-arrangement.

Widening the Circle

Our staff members are experienced professionals who can provide much of the information you need, emotional support and compassionate guidance.

While you may ask the director any questions at this time, you will be able to discuss the arrangements in detail later when you meet in person. During this initial call, the funeral director will gather information to be able to transport your loved one to the funeral home.

The funeral director may ask you several questions, including whether your loved one made any pre-arrangements. The director will also schedule a date and time for you to meet at the funeral home and will let you know what you should bring with you. Others you will need to call are:

• Family members and friends
• Clergy or other spiritual advisors

When A Death Occurs

When death occurs, the order in which things need to be done often depends on where the death occurred. But, one thing should always be remembered: your heightened emotional state upon the death of a loved one. That's why we suggest that you ask a friend for help - someone who is more able to think clearly, and give you the support you need.

• 

  At Home or at Work

  When a death occurs at home or in the workplace, a family member or co-worker should contact emergency personnel. If the death occurs at home with family or friends present, and the person is under a physician's care, the family will want to call us directly.
  However, if the death occurs in a residence and no one is there at the time of death, the police will need to be notified and respond to the residence before the deceased is removed from their home.
  If in any case you are not sure of who to notify or what to do, you may call Bryan-Braker, and we'll assist you in notifying the proper agencies.

• While Under Supervised Care

  When a death occurs in a care facility, such as a hospital or nursing home, the professional staff will notify you and the necessary authorities. If the name of the funeral home has been left with them, the institution will notify the funeral home at the time of the death. The funeral director will contact you immediately following their notification to help you proceed. (However, we suggest you contact the funeral home immediately, so you've got the reassurance you need that all is taken care of properly.)
  If a loved one was in the care of a hospice program, a hospice representative will give family members instructions and procedures to follow. The coroner/medical examiner will be notified by hospice. Following their release the hospice will contact the funeral home. It is always a good idea for the family to contact us immediately so that we will be aware of the pending call from hospice.

Burial or Cremation?

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 going home with a loved one, placed in a columbarium niche, scattered in the blue ocean, or buried on cemetery grounds. Bryan-Braker Funeral Home does own and operated their own crematory, so no one leaves our care.

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.

With an Eye to Your Future

We can help you come to the decisions that will meet your needs now, and in the future. After all, you will need to live with these decisions for a long time. Doing the right thing now can make all the difference in your peace-of-mind through the coming years. Contact us today to discuss your intentions.

How to Honor a Life

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, 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 your favorite candy can be given or wildflower seeds to be planted in your memory. We’re here to help you create the most memorable and meaningful service to honor your loved one.

Yolo County Grief Support Groups

Grief Support Groups for Adults

Davis

Yolo Hospice

1909 Galileo Court, STE A, Davis, California

(800) 491-7711 or (530) 601-5756

Weekly on Fridays

10 am - 11 am

Weekly on Thursdays

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Support Groups In Solano County

The following grief support groups are listed for your information. Please call them to confirm times, locations, and for additional information.

You may always call Bryan-Braker Funeral Home  for further assistance. 
(707) 425-4697 or
1-800-306-5558

Click HERE For The List Of Grief Support Groups

Catch and Release - Finding Life in Death: Michael Fratkin at TEDxEureka...

Dr. Michael Fratkin is a Palliative Medicine physician who works to understand what's needed and then to articulate what's revealed while serving human beings facing death. As a clinician, an educator, and a journalistic poet, Dr. Fratkin returns from the bedsides of people facing the single greatest challenge in life with practical, provocative, and profound insights.

Nature Niches - Granite Rocks

     

Fairmont Memorial Park offers a unique cremation memorial urn called Back to Nature. This niche is for cremated remains in an above ground natural setting that is integrated into the landscape. Fairmont Memorial Park has placed these granite urns throughout the courtyard, but these urns may be purchased for your special garden. The Back to Nature urn is a natural unfinished rock with a bronze memorial plaque for names and dates.

Changing The Way We Mourn: Laura Prince at TEDxGoldenGatePark (2D)

How do you go from world traveler to funeral counselor the span of one phone call? In her talk, Laura Prince explores the transformative power of grief , death, and her passion for changing the way we as a society approach death.

While studying Gerontology and working with elders who where close to their own death, she became inspired to celebrate life and live as passionately as possible. Later while working on the National Geographic Expedition ships, a tragic unexpected death in her close circle led her inadvertently into a career in the death care industry. To this day, it has been the most passionate time of her life. She is currently working on an organization called Good Mourning offering death education, holistic grief counseling, and funeral planning services. Laura stresses the importance of properly honoring the those who have died, as well as our resulting grief. By becoming closer to the reality of death, we can live more present, passionate lives.