End of Life Planning
When it comes to end-of-life decisions, few choices are as personal—or as important—as deciding between cremation and burial. At Sky-View Memorial Park, we’ve walked alongside families in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1946, offering guidance, support, and a serene place to remember and honor their loved ones.
Whether you’re planning ahead or navigating a recent loss, we’re here to help you understand your options and make the choice that feels right for you and your family.
Understanding the Options: Cremation Versus Burial
For many families, the first step in funeral planning is choosing between cremation services or burial. Both options carry deep meaning and tradition, and there’s no right or wrong choice—just the one that aligns with your beliefs, values, and vision for remembrance.
In recent years, cremation has become increasingly popular across the United States. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, over half of all Americans now choose cremation over traditional burial—a trend that continues to grow year after year.
In fact, U.S. cremation rates are projected to increase significantly, reaching 82.1% by 2045, while burial rates are expected to fall to 13.3%. In Canada, cremation rates are projected to reach 90.7% by 2045, with burial rates at 8.7%.
There are many reasons for this shift in personal preference:
- Greater Flexibility: Cremation allows families to hold services on their own timeline and choose from a variety of meaningful final resting places.
- Cost Considerations: The cost of cremation is often more affordable and cost effective than traditional burial, making it a more accessible option for many families.
- Changing Traditions: As cultural and religious views evolve, more individuals are embracing cremation as a respectful and meaningful alternative to burial.
- Environmental Awareness: Some families choose cremation for its smaller environmental, eco-friendly footprint compared to embalming and full casket burials.
Cremation also opens the door to personalized memorial services. Loved ones can choose to keep the remains in a decorative urn at home, scatter them in a meaningful place, or inter them in a dedicated cremation burial plot.
Burial—whether traditional or in combination with cremation—continues to offer a profound sense of permanence. A physical gravesite provides a place where family and friends can return to reflect, honor, and feel connected to their loved one’s legacy.
At Sky-View Memorial Park, we embrace both traditions with equal care and reverence. Our grounds include thoughtfully designed spaces for cremation and burial, ensuring that every family—regardless of their choice—has a beautiful, lasting place to preserve their loved one’s memory.
Cremation Planning with Care
If you’re considering cremation, it’s important to plan ahead—not just for logistical ease, but to ensure your wishes, or those of a loved one, are honored in a thoughtful and meaningful way. At Sky-View Memorial Park, our compassionate team will guide you through every step of the cremation planning process. From selecting an urn or keepsake to choosing a final resting place, we’re here to make each decision easier.
Many families are surprised to learn that cremation does not eliminate the opportunity for a permanent memorial. In fact, cremation burial is one of the most meaningful ways to create a lasting tribute—one that future generations can visit, reflect upon, and draw comfort from. We often help families plan traditional services, graveside ceremonies, or even unique celebrations of life in conjunction with cremation.
Sky-View Memorial Park offers several cremation-specific options to meet a wide variety of needs, beliefs, and budgets:
- Niche Walls and Columbariums: These beautiful structures provide space to house cremation urns with engraved plaques or decorative markers. They offer a dignified and centralized location for remembrance.
- Family Cremation Plots: For those who want to be laid to rest near loved ones, cremation plots allow for multiple interments in a single location—ideal for couples or families who wish to stay connected even in rest.
- Cremation Gardens: These tranquil spaces are designed specifically for cremated remains, with landscaped areas, walking paths, and personalized memorials that reflect the spirit and legacy of your loved one.
Each cremation memorial can be personalized with engraved markers, custom art, religious symbols, or even benches and statuary—ensuring that every tribute is as unique as the life it represents. Whether you’re planning ahead or honoring a recent loss, we’re here to help you create something truly special.
Funeral Burial: A Tradition of Legacy
For families who prefer a traditional funeral burial, Sky-View Memorial Park offers a peaceful, reverent setting designed to honor a life well lived. Spanning 126 acres of rolling hills, mature trees, and carefully landscaped grounds, our park provides a wide variety of burial options—including traditional casketed burials, side-by-side family plots, companion burials, and personalized monuments that reflect each individual’s story.
Since opening our gates in 1946, Sky-View has become the final resting place for more than 12,000 individuals, including over 3,700 veterans whose service we are honored to commemorate. We take great pride in being a place where generations of families return—year after year—to visit, reflect, and remember those they hold dear.
Whether you envision a quiet graveside service, a formal procession, or a memorial rooted in faith and family tradition, our team is here to help you plan every detail with care and clarity. We understand that funeral burial is not just about a location—it’s about creating a place where memories live on.
What truly sets Sky-View apart is our unwavering commitment to perpetual care. Our full-time maintenance staff—many of whom have served the park for decades—tend to every inch of the grounds with diligence and respect. From seasonal plantings to year-round upkeep, your loved one’s resting place will always be beautifully maintained, providing you with lasting peace of mind.
Honoring Both Choices: Cremation and Burial
Some families choose to combine elements of both cremation and burial—cremating a loved one and then interring their ashes in a dedicated plot with a headstone or memorial, or hosting a traditional funeral ceremony before the cremation takes place. This blended approach offers the emotional significance of ceremony and the permanence of a physical resting place, along with the flexibility that cremation allows.
At Sky-View Memorial Park, we fully support this meaningful choice and offer a range of options designed to accommodate it. Whether you’re looking for a quiet family plot, a niche in our columbarium, or a personalized marker in our cremation garden, we’ll help you create a tribute that honors your loved one’s memory in a way that feels true to your family’s values and traditions.
Why Families Choose Sky-View
When it comes to funeral arrangements, peace of mind matters. Families across Northeastern Pennsylvania turn to Sky-View Memorial Park not just for our beautiful grounds, but for the care, stability, and trust we’ve built over generations. From your first conversation with us to the lasting upkeep of your loved one’s resting place, we’re here to support you with dignity and compassion.
- Established Legacy: Serving the region since 1946, Sky-View Memorial Park has been a place of peace, remembrance, and care for generations.
- Perpetual Maintenance: Our full-time maintenance staff, many of whom have served for decades, ensure the park is always pristine.
- Veteran Commitment: We honor over 3,700 veterans each year, including with long-standing Memorial Day services and the Wreaths Across America program.
- Guidance You Can Trust: Whether you’re choosing cremation or burial, our compassionate team helps you understand your options and navigate each decision with clarity and care.
With every family we serve, we carry forward a tradition of respect, remembrance, and personalized support. When you choose Sky-View, you’re choosing a team that treats your loved one’s memory as if it were our own.
Start the Conversation Today
Planning ahead—whether for yourself or a loved one—is a thoughtful, loving act. At Sky-View Memorial Park, we’re here to make the process of cremation and burial planning simple, respectful, and comforting.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation or a guided tour of our grounds. We’ll help you find peace of mind, knowing that your final wishes—or those of someone you love—will be honored with the dignity and care they deserve.
