About Funerals, Funeral Planning, And Cremation

Payment is required in full before services are rendered. However, payment is not required, or expected, prior to your loved one being brought into our care. Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding our payment process.

Yes, life insurance policies can be used for payment if the policy can be verified and certain criteria is met. There is a fee for using life insurance as payment.

Almost all pre-need plans are transferable. Please contact us with any questions.

We accept all major credit cards, cash, and certified funds such as a cashiers check. We do not accept personal checks. For a fee, we will also accept life insurance policies that meet certain criteria.

Bunker Family Funerals & Cremation has been serving Arizona families since 1913. We are a fourth-generation family owned business. For more information, please visit our About Us page.

Bunker Family Funerals & Cremation is wholly owned and operated by the Bunker Family.

Absolutely. We appreciate the beauty of various religions and cultures and are honored to help facilitate meaningful services that reflect the cultures, religions, and traditions of all those we are trusted to serve.

This is referred to as “repatriation.” We are experts in this service and have worked with funeral homes and cemeteries all over the country to help get loved ones to their final place of rest. Please speak with one of our funeral directors for more information on repatriation requirements.

The funeral is a ceremony of proven worth and value for those who mourn. It provides an opportunity for family, friends, and others who share in the loss to express their love, respect, and grief. Funerals allow us to openly and realistically face the crisis that death may present. In this way, a funeral allows the bereaved to take that first step towards emotional adjustment.

Your service is a very personal thing, so only you can answer that question. Our free planning guide can help you start to make the decisions required to plan a service ahead of time. If service details are not outlined in a pre-plan, the type of service will be decided by the family or someone close to the deceased.

Most services are held at a place of worship or at the funeral home. The service may vary in ritual according to religious denomination or the wishes of the family. A private service is by invitation only where selected relatives and a few close friends attend the funeral service.

A memorial service is usually a service without the body present and can vary in ceremony and procedures according to the family’s community and religious affiliations.

Absolutely. In fact, we recommend it. After all, the funeral is a celebration of life. Services can be personalized in many unique ways. Our funeral directors are happy to discuss all options and ensure your funeral is tailored to your wishes. Contact us at (480) 964-8686 to explore the possibilities.

There are many reasons to allow the public to view the deceased. For one, it is part of many cultural and ethnic traditions. Additionally, many grief specialists believe that viewing aids the grief process by helping the bereaved recognize the reality of death. Viewing is even encouraged for children, as long as it is their desire to do so, and the process is explained well.

Funeral directors are both caregivers and administrators. In their administrative duties, they make the arrangements for transportation of the body, complete all necessary paperwork, and implement the choices made by the family regarding the funeral and final disposition of the body.

As caregivers, funeral directors are listeners, advisors and supporters. They have experience assisting the bereaved in coping with death. Funeral directors are trained to answer questions about grief, recognize when a person is having difficulty coping, and recommend sources of professional help. Funeral directors also link survivors with support groups at the funeral home or in the community.

Embalming sanitizes and preserves the body, slows the decomposition process, and enhances the appearance of a body disfigured by traumatic death or illness. It makes it possible to lengthen the time between death and the final disposition, thus allowing family members time to arrange and participate in the type of service most comforting to them. Embalming the body enables mourners to view the deceased if they wish. The emotional benefits of viewing the deceased are enormous, particularly to those having difficulty dealing with the death.

No. That said, certain factors of time, health, and possible legal requirements might make embalming either appropriate or necessary. Please note that embalming may be required if the deceased is being transported by air to another country where local laws require it.

No, embalming is not required for burial. It is always your choice. Some factors that may affect your decision to embalm include:

• Selecting a service with a public viewing and open casket
• The desire to enhance the deceased’s appearance for a private family viewing
• A need to transport the body by air or rail
• The length of time prior to the burial

For an adult, full-service funeral, consumers choose to spend an average of $5000. This includes all professional services, including transfer-of remains, embalming, and other preparation; use of viewing facilities and the facilities for the ceremony; hearse, limousine, and the purchase of a casket.

Funeral costs have increased no faster than the consumer price index for other consumer items. At Bunker, we offer fair and transparent pricing to all the families we serve.

In some respects, funerals are a lot like weddings or birthday celebrations. As is the case with these celebrations, the cost of a funeral will vary according to personal taste and budget.

Please keep in mind: A funeral home is a 24-hour, labor-intensive business, with extensive facilities and assets (viewing rooms, chapels, limousines, hearses, etc.). These expenses must be factored into the cost of a funeral. Moreover, the cost of a funeral includes not only products (like caskets or programs), but also the services of a funeral director (making arrangements; filing appropriate forms; dealing with doctors, ministers, florists, newspapers and others; and seeing to all other necessary details).

Contrary to popular belief, funeral homes are largely family-owned with a modest profit margin.

No, cremation is an alternative to earth burial or entombment for the body’s final disposition. Cremation often follows a traditional funeral service. We can assist you with the necessary information for a funeral with a cremation following or a memorial service.

Yes. Cremation does not preclude having a visitation period and a funeral service. Cremation is simply one option for final disposition of the body.

Yes, but not dramatically. Burial or entombment still remain common.

Yes, we offer urn vaults, designed for in-ground burial of cremated remains.

Never. Not only is it illegal to do so, but most modern cremation chambers are not big enough to accommodate more than one adult.

Yes, for a nominal fee. Our state-of-the-art cremation facility is set up to allow family members to be present when the body is placed into the cremation chamber. In fact, some religious groups include this as part of their funeral custom.

A columbarium, often located within a mausoleum, chapel or in a garden setting, is constructed with numerous small compartments (niches) designed to hold urns containing cremated remains.

Just like other open spaces, cemeteries are impacted by increased population density in both urban and rural areas. Cemetery spaces are a finite resource, and as such, are at a premium in some regions.

“Perpetual Care” usually refers to the correct terms Permanent Care or Endowment Care. These Care funds are collected with each Interment Space sale to maintain the grounds, roads, and buildings of the cemetery.

Yes. We can show you the wide range of personalization choices available, including customized nameplates and military insignias.

In most areas of the country, state or local laws do not require that you buy a container to surround the casket in the grave. However, many cemeteries require that you have such a container so that the ground will not sink. Either a grave liner or a burial vault will satisfy these requirements.

Mausoleum crypts are both clean and dry. They offer a viable alternative for those who have an aversion to being interred in the ground. Furthermore, with a growing shortage of available land for cemetery use, mausoleums will allow for a maximum number of entombments in a minimum amount of space.

It is helpful to friends and the community to have an obituary notice published announcing the death and type of service to be held. A notice can be placed in a local newspaper or on the Internet.

We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All you need to do is call us at (480) 964-8686. If you request immediate assistance, one of our professionals will be there within the hour. Alternatively, if the family wishes to spend a short time with the deceased to say goodbye, they will come when your time is right.

Your funeral director can assist you if a death occurs anywhere on the globe. Contact your hometown funeral director of choice immediately. They will assume responsibility and coordinate the arrangements for the return of the deceased person to their community. They may engage the services of a funeral director in the place of death who will act as their agent.

Yes, a person who dies of an AIDS-related illness is entitled to the same service options afforded to anyone else. If public viewing is consistent with local or personal customs, that option is encouraged. Touching the deceased’s face or hands is perfectly safe.

Survivors may need even more support than survivors of non-AIDS-related deaths, as they often manage a variety of unique feelings surrounding the death.

While most funeral homes provide outstanding services, things can go wrong. Funeral service is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and state licensing boards.

Whenever possible, the consumer should discuss problems with the funeral director first. If the dispute cannot be solved by talking with the funeral director, the consumer may wish to contact the FTC by contacting the Consumer Response Center.

• Consumer Response Center Contact Information:
  • Phone (toll-free): 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357); TDD: 1-866-653-4261;
  • Mail: Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580
  • Online, using the online complaint form: at www.ftc.gov

You may also choose to contact the local Better Business Bureau, or your state consumer protection office.

Other than the family, there are veteran, union, and other organizational benefits to pay for funerals. Most funeral directors are aware of the various benefits and know how to obtain them for the indigent. However, funeral directors often absorb costs above and beyond what is provided by agencies to insure the deceased a respectable burial.