Where Do Your Cremations Take Place?

In the State of Michigan, it is illegal for funeral homes to own and operate a crematory. This prohibition is due to the anti-combo law which forbids funeral homes, cemeteries and crematories, from being owned by the same entity in any given market.  Some funeral homes circumvent this law, by putting the ownership of the crematory in a relative’s name, such as a spouse.

At Joldersma & Klein we use Central Michigan Crematory for our cremations. They are located in Battle Creek and have performed nearly 100,000 cremations since opening in 1983.

Central Michigan Crematory (CMC) is in a secure, alarmed facility. They have seven crematory units, also known as retorts. Regular full unit maintenance is done quarterly on their retorts, which assures us that they will never be unable to cremate a body when we need to have it done.

CMC uses an identification disc to ensure that the family receives back the cremated remains of their loved one. They also have back generators to guarantee uninterrupted service in the event of a power loss.

They recently installed a state-of-the-art processing system to make sure of non-biological material separation that might be present in the cremated remains.

All of their cremationists are certified by the Cremation Association of North America. These cremationists must follow a checklist before proceeding with the cremation process.

CMC never proceeds with a cremation before receiving and verifying paperwork received from their funeral home partners.

If you have questions about any element of the cremation process, you are welcome and encouraged to speak with us.