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Natural Burials

Natural Burials

Shaffer Funeral Home is pleased to offer our community an option that hasn’t existed for many years; the natural burial.

Funerals are changing and funeral homes must adapt and embrace new traditions. That’s why Shaffer Funeral Home is now offering an affordable alternative for earthen burials, with no compromise of respect or dignity.

Natural burial was the norm in centuries passed. Embalming was unknown or not widely utilized, and burial vaults (the concrete or metal box for the casket) were not known to most.  After death, the body was bathed, dressed, placed in a biodegradable box (these boxes, which are the kind we use today for natural burials, range from cardboard to solid mahogany with no metal used in their construction) and placed directly in the earth. This is the only way one’s body can naturally be recycled back into the earth. There are no chemicals or preservatives like those used in traditional embalming, and no large amounts of fossil fuel as required for cremation. Today, with modern refrigeration, one’s body can be held until all services have been arranged.

Shaffer’s has made arrangements with Romney's historic Indian Mound Cemetery to have a special section available for this very purpose. Only unembalmed bodies in a fully biodegradable casket will be permitted in this special section overlooking scenic Yellow Banks in the South Branch Valley of the Potomac River. In keeping with the simplicity of this type of arrangement, only flat markers will be permitted. These markers can be engraved rocks, flat granite or flat marble.

Shaffer Funeral Home, Romney

Even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, service preferences have been changing. More and more people are opting for services which all occur in the same day; a one-hour visitation, the funeral and then to the cemetery. This is the standard for our Natural Burial services.

Approximately one-third of all Shaffer’s services use cremation, sometimes with no services of any kind. Many are unaware that cremation is not environmentally friendly due to the fossil fuel requirements of the cremation retort. Natural burial is a wonderful, earth-friendly option for those hoping to keep it a bit greener.

Want to learn more? Call Jamie or Savanna and they will be happy to discuss the different options. You will not be obligated to Shaffer’s in any way. Please call ahead to schedule an appointment (304.822.3511).

No matter what type of service you select - traditional burial, cremation or natural burial, Shaffer’s will custom tailor a service for you that meets your needs and those who are most important to you.

We will all face this at some point. Planning ahead and getting your questions and concerns answered ahead of time will give you the peace of mind you deserve.

Shaffer Funeral Home

Phone: (304) 822-3511

230 East Main St., Romney, WV 26757

info@shafferfh.com

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