Traditional casket or cremation urn burials
Fees for burials and related services vary depending on the cemetery and by the type of preferred burial, casket or cremated urn remains. Metro offers assistance with burial services for family members in hospice or who have recently passed away. Metro also can assist individuals and families with pre-planning arrangements, long before a death occurs. Metro’s cemeteries price list describes options and current charges.
There are several options for cremated urn burials in Metro cemeteries. In-ground burials are available, or there is also the option of Chestnut Grove Memorial Garden, located within Lone Fir cemetery. The Chestnut Grove Memorial Garden offers a number of choices for memorializing or burying cremated remains.
FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance
Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Congress authorized FEMA to provide financial assistance to individuals who incurred COVID-19-related funeral expenses after January 20, 2020.
COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Line Number
Applications begin on April 12, 2021
844-684-6333 | TTY: 800-462-7585
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Friday
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time
Today, FEMA has issued its final policy – which includes details such as eligibility and documentation criteria and the application process – for how funds will be distributed to families. Most notably, FEMA shared that the maximum financial assistance will now be $9,000 per funeral.
Additionally, FEMA will only award COVID-19 Funeral Assistance for a deceased individual on a single application. If multiple individuals contributed toward funeral expenses, they should register under a single application as applicant and co-applicant. The applicant or co-applicant must have incurred the funeral expenses. The deceased individual’s documentation status is not considered as part of the reimbursement process, but the applicant(s) must be U.S. citizens, legal residents, asylees, refugees, or non-citizen nationals.
Eligible funeral expenses include but are not limited to:
- Transportation for up to two individuals to identify the deceased individual
- Transfer of remains
- Casket or urn
- Burial plot or cremation niche
- Marker or headstone
- Clergy or officiant services
- Arrangement of the funeral ceremony
- Use of funeral home equipment or staff
Honoring Veterans
Additional Resources
Please visit the following links for detailed information about the options available for honoring service members and other aspects of military funerals:
Eligibility
Military funeral honors are free of charge and mandated by law for eligible veterans. Eligibility will be verified by the veteran’s DD-214, or discharge papers. Eligible members include:
- Military members on active duty or in the Selected Reserve.
- Former military members who served on active duty and departed under honorable conditions.
- Former military members who completed at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service in the Selected Reserve and departed under honorable conditions.
- Former military members discharged from the Selected Reserve due to a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.
Traditional Honors
At minimum, eligible veterans are entitled to the folding and presenting of the American flag to the next of kin and the playing of Taps by a bugler or recording. These honors are performed by an honor guard detail that consists of at least two members of the Armed Forces. One member must be a representative from the branch in which the veteran served, and this member will be the individual who presents the flag.
Honors also can include:
- A three-volley rifle salute to represent duty, honor, and country
- The U.S. flag draped over the casket
- A final salute at the gravesite
Veteran Benefits
In addition to coordinating honors related to the service itself, you can communicate with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to arrange for:
- A Presidential Memorial Certificate: This is a certificate expressing the nation's recognition of the veteran's service. The veteran's name is inscribed, and the certificate bears the signature of the President.
- Headstones or markers: The VA provides headstones and markers for the graves of veterans anywhere in the world and for eligible dependents of veterans buried in national, state, or military cemeteries.
- Memorial plots: If an eligible veteran's remains are not available for burial, the VA will provide a plot and headstone or marker in a national cemetery for memorialization. If you wish to place the memorial in a cemetery other than a national cemetery, the VA will provide the headstone or marker but not the plot itself.
- Burial in a VA national cemetery: This includes the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, a grave box, and perpetual care.
- Reimbursement of burial expenses: For information on eligibility and the different levels of potential reimbursement, please review their Guide to VA Burial Allowances.