If you are not sure yet about the type of funeral you envision, we have assembled a list of some popular choices and requests we have encountered. We are happy to customize each one of the following options for you, or develop something entirely new. FRIENDS Funeral Home can also provide celebrants and personnel or work with your favorite priest or master of ceremony.
New Orleans Jazz Funeral The jazz funeral tradition grew to become New Orleans’ most honored of funeral ceremonies, with horse-drawn hearses and parades, well-known musicians and other pillars of the community. Although the upbeat music and dancing has, historically, flown in the face of prevailing sentiments about the required solemnity of the traditional memorial service,…
Chapels Up to the end of World War II, it was an American tradition to have an in-home funeral. This was when the “parlor” became the “living room”. Caring for their own dead was part of the way of life for centuries. The body was laid out usually in the unheated front parlor and the…
Muslim Services FRIENDS Funeral Home has a very close relationship with the Iranian community in Los Angeles. We offer Muslim Burials, including Muslim ceremonial washings and work closely with the LA and OC Islamic Centers or various clerics. We also offer Iranian non-orthodox clerics that work with your family to custom-create the service.…
Corona Update – Funerals and Cremation during COVID-19 (Coronavirus)The health of your families and our staff is very important to FRIENDS. While we are fully operational, we have taken various safety precautions to keep everyone safe: we offer intakes via phone and can email or fax you all paperwork, which you then can fill…
VIP Funeral FRIENDS is proud to announce the opening of our VIP Department. In order to serve specific needs in regards to security and privacy, we have attracted staff with extensive prior experience in this field. Our personnel has served former president’s families as well as the most prominent families in Beverly Hills and worked…
Viking Funeral Even today, many identify with the earthy and brave warrior quality of our ancestors, the Vikings. A traditional Viking funeral consists of burning the body or its remains in an open-air funeral pyre, together with loved trinkets for the afterlife. This allows the wind to carry the soul to Valhalla. The ashes are…
Surfers Funeral or Paddle Out One of the hardest parts of becoming a surfing senior citizen, or as it is more often called, a geezer, is that more and more people you know keep passing away. It gets to be a drag getting the news that somebody that you know, who more often than not…
Space Burial Space burial has become the latest trend for people who intend to transcend and leave this earth for good, even where their remains are concerned. There are several options to select from. Those with enough funds to do so can have their ashes sent to the moon or into deep space. Another option…
Shamanic Funeral The Shaman visits the dying person and acquaints him or her with the practice of “Phowa”, an ancient Shamanic tradition also described in the book “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying”. The dying person is guided through a visualization into the light and various ancient prayers will be spoken. One of them…
Pagan Rituals Pagan rituals usually start with spiritual support during the dying process. The dying person is caressed, sung to and allowed to discuss their fears and feelings about their passing. This is radically different from the way in which most modern Americans die, and is probably a lot closer to the way our ancestors…
Buddhist Funeral Legend has it that when a man went to the Buddha professing his grief over the loss of a friend, the Buddha gave him particularly sage advice: Throw a party! Death is a way to reach the next reincarnation and move closer to Nirvana, the state of absolute bliss. Buddhist funerals are often…
Native American Tribal Funeral Each tribe has their own variation on funeral customs, including use of Native languages, symbols, ceremonial objects and practice. A few beliefs are held in common: Native people consider the natural world a sacred place. Birth, life and death are all part of an endless cycle. The remaining family stands in the…
Japanese Obon Celebration A ceremony that is gaining popularity in the United States has its origins in Buddhism but is evolving into something much more universal. The Obon ritual seeks to communicate with the dead, bring them comfort, solace and closure. It is specifically designed to appease a deceased person that is believed to have…
A little History on Home Funerals Up to the end of World War II, it was an American tradition to have an in-home funeral. This was when the “parlor” became the “living room”. Caring for their own dead was part of the way of life for centuries. The body was laid out usually in the…
Hindu Cremation Ceremonies A belief in the cyclical reincarnation of the soul is one of the foundations of the Hindu religion. Death is viewed as a natural aspect of life. Cremation is a ritual designed to do much more than dispose of the body; it is intended to release the soul from its earthly existence.…
Green Funeral Green up your final act by embracing your own bio-degradability! You drove a Prius and bought carbon offsets. Whenever you could, you biked to work. You schlepped cloth bags to the grocery store—most of the time. You forked over hard-earned cash to the Sierra Club and installed solar. Well done. Now, however, things…
Gay/Lesbian GLBT Funerals In recent years, few groups have faced death more often than gay men, or more creatively. Still, it’s still all too rare for gays and lesbians to have their deaths honored and ritualized appropriately. Says one of our customers: “After a lifetime of coming to terms and finally embracing and celebrating the…
End of Life Party If a person is consciously dying of a disease, they might find it meaningful to celebrate the end of their life with a party, inviting all their friends and families while they are still able to say good-bye. This celebration can be held at a meaningful location that is relevant to…
Beloved Child’s FuneralThe loss of a beloved child is maybe the hardest challenge in life for any parent. As the process of grieving and preparation for the good-bye is painful, it also holds the seed of deep healing. A loving and gentle letting-go ritual over the course of three days will include the parents and…
