At Campo de Estrellas, it is our great honor to offer you a final resting place on our land. Facilitating a burial is at the heart of what we do, but we understand that preparing for one can be a confusing and somewhat challenging process. In an effort to make the process more manageable, we have laid out each task that needs to be completed before a burial can take place at Campo de Estrellas.
Schedule a visit to Campo de Estrellas: If you have an immediate burial need (if someone has recently died and no plot has been chosen), call us to schedule a time at your earliest convenience to visit the cemetery and purchase a spot. Keep in mind, while we may be the first call you make, we will also be the last step in the process of preparing for a burial.
The next set of tasks are done outside of Campo de Estrellas as we do not provide these services. These include transportation, refrigeration, sanitary care of the body, and filing the death certificate.
Families often use the services of a funeral home for assistance with these tasks. While it is possible to handle them on your own, you may find it difficult to complete them if you are planning a burial by yourself or with a small number of people. Campo de Estrellas supports both families working with funeral homes and those opting for a more hands-on approach, known as a “Home Funeral“ in accordance with Texas law.
Arrange transportation for the deceased: If you will not be transporting the deceased yourself, contact your chosen funeral home to initiate the transportation process to their facility. It is good to ask the funeral home what their charge per mile is, to give you a better idea of what the cost will be for transporting the person Campo de Estrellas for the burial.
Refrigeration of the deceased: If you are not keeping the deceased at home, the funeral home will handle the cooling of the body, preserving it until the time of burial. Refrigeration is essential, especially when families need time to prepare for the ceremony and for loved ones to gather.
Preparing the deceased for burial: If you are not keeping the deceased at home, the funeral home is also where caring for and preparing the body will take place. This may involve washing the body, wrapping it in the chosen shroud, or placing it in the selected container, depending on what you choose.
At Campo de Estrellas, we allow people to be buried in shrouds or containers/caskets made of natural materials. Most funeral homes have basic casket options that fit this criteria.
Filing the death certificate: In compliance with Texas regulations, only a funeral director associated with a licensed funeral home can file a death certificate. This crucial step must be completed before any burial can occur.
The Process of Burial at Campo de Estrellas
Upon notifying Campo de Estrellas of a death, we will begin planning the burial based on your preferences. Regular communication is maintained with you and the funeral home, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
Before the day of the burial, Campo de Estrellas will contact our cemetery service to prepare the grave site. This service handles opening the grave and closing it once the service is complete.
On the day of the burial, the funeral home arrives an hour before the burial to set the body at the grave site or pavilion depending on where you would like to hold the service. Attendees will gather at the appointed time. The ceremony takes place in accordance with your wishes. Once it is complete, if the body is not yet at the grave, a procession on foot may take place.
The body will be lowered into the grave using a lowering device (provided by the cemetery service) or by hand, using the assistance of the attendees if that is preferred. Anyone attending may linger as long as they wish. Once directed to, we will have the cemetery service begin closing the grave.