Cremations are on the rise in southwest Kansas, reports the Garden City Telegram.In fact, some funeral home directors expect cremation may become the norm rather than the exception over the next 10 years.
Funeral Director Darin Bradstreet said when he purchased Garnand Funeral Home in 1991, cremations made up only about 5 percent of all services. “Today,” he said, “Kansas is really around a 40 percent cremation rate.” That trend prompted Bradstreet to add a crematory to Garnand's Seventh Street location in Garden City.
Aaron Kucharik, funeral director with Price & Sons Funeral Home in Garden City, said cremation offers many advantages to traditional burials. He added, “If you want to bury (the ashes), you can. If you want to scatter them, you can.”
Basic cremations are significantly cheaper because it isn’t necessary to purchase a casket, which is usually the most expensive item of a funeral.