San Antonio metro is known for a lot of things from basketball to bar-be-cue. It’s a truly Texan town that holds a lot of history. Legacy means a lot to the locals, which is why funeral services are so important.
Making a final decision on funeral services can be stressful in an area like San Antonio where there are so many options. It’s a decision you can only make once, so we’re here to help families get a better grasp on what’s available and the process for arranging San Antonio funeral services.
The San Antonio Metro Culture and Suburbs
San Antonio is a vibrant city that is known for its culture and history. It is the home of The Alamo after all. The San Antonio-New Braunfels metro also has the biggest Hispanic population in the country. This Hispanic heritage, that dates back to the city’s founding, has had a huge impact on how the area has developed. It’s a truly unique culture that blends aspects of two countries together seamlessly.
The military has also helped shape the culture of San Antonio. It’s had a significant impact on funerals given that there are special services that are reserved for military members and veterans.
Like many other cities in Central Texas, San Antonio is an active city with a lot to do, especially outdoors. Beyond the famed Riverwalk downtown, many locals enjoy kayaking the San Antonio River or tubing down the Comal River on the weekend. There are even cave systems that can be explored when San Antonionians are looking to beat the heat during outdoor activities.
San Antonio is one of the most expansive metropolitan areas in the country. It covers a lot of ground that’s within eight counties:
- Atascosa
- Bandera
- Bexar
- Comal
- Guadalupe
- Kendall
- Medina
- Wilson
Cities and sizeable suburbs in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro include:
- Alamo Heights
- Boerne
- Bulverde
- Canyon Lake
- Cibolo
- Comfort
- Converse
- Floresville
- Helotes
- Hondo
- Kirby
- Lakehills
- Leon Valley
- Live Oak
- Luling
- Pleasanton
- Schertiz
- Seguin
- Selma
- Timberland Park
- Universal City
- Uvalde
Available Funeral Services in the San Antonio Metro
With so much in the area, it’s not surprising that there’s a diverse selection of funeral services in the San Antonio metro. While many people still choose traditional burial, there are other options like green burial, and Cremation.Green offers alternative funeral services that are environmentally friendly.
Traditional Funeral Services
There’s a very large Catholic population in San Antonio, which means traditional funeral services are widely available. Traditional cremation and burial services include a viewing and funeral, usually either at a funeral home or a church. Today, many families are forgoing traditional funeral services because they are much more expensive and stressful than other options.
Eco-Friendly Funeral Services
After many decades of performing traditional funerals, we’ve discovered that the processes that have been used come at a very high ecological cost. From cutting down forests for caskets to toxic embalming fluid, there are a lot of downsides. A decade ago Cremation.Green began to change that for Texans by offering innovative eco-friendly funeral services. We’ve helped fill an important need that serves families who prefer cleaner, greener disposition. Other funeral homes now offer “green” options, but at Cremation.Green we’ve truly created unique services that are lower impact at every stage.
Direct Cremation Services
The simplest form of death care is direct cremation. With direct cremation San Antonio families can get disposition services without the costly extras like holding a viewing or funeral. Instead they usually hold a memorial with the cremated remains after the cremation. This service is streamlined to include all of the necessities that have to legally be handled by the next of kin.
Cemeteries in San Antonio and New Braunfels
Whether you choose burial or cremation, a cemetery in the area could be the final resting place for a loved one. The cemetery you choose is about more than location. You want to make sure they offer the services you need at a price you can afford.
Green Cemeteries
Natural burial is now being offered at several cemeteries in the San Antonio metro: Green cemeteries in the Dallas metroplex include:
- Countryside Memorial Green Burial Park – An exclusively natural burial park that’s about 25 miles outside of San Antonio.
- Unbroken Circle Green Cemetery – The first cemetery in the area to offer conservation burial.
- Porter Loring Mortuaries – In addition to traditional burial, Porter Loring also provides green burial at their cemetery.
Cemeteries With Cremation Burial
Roughly a third of people bury the cremated remains of family members, especially Catholics who must keep cremains in a holy place, such as a church cemetery. Cremains can be buried at one of these San Antonio-New Braunfels metro cemeteries:
- Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery
- Meadowland Memorial Park
- San Antonio National Cemetery
- San Jose Memorial Park
- Sunset Memorial Park
Columbariums in the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metro
If a loved one is cremated, you have another option for a final resting place. Columbariums are structures with niches or compartments for holding urns with cremated remains. They can be found at churches, cemeteries and private grounds. Some columbarium locations in San Antonio are:
- Christ Episcopal Church
- Christ Lutheran Church Columbarium
- Coker Columbarium
- Fellowship of San Antonio Columbarium
- Holy Cross Cemetery
- Laurel Heights Columbarium
- Meadowland Memorial Park
- St. Francis by the Lake
- University Memorial Garden
You can also check with the cemeteries above as many of them also offer columbarium niches.
San Antonio Metro Medical Examiner Services
Whenever a death is sudden, unexpected or questionable in how or why it occurred, medical examiners will be needed to examine the case. One of the Texas counties with medical examiner’s offices is in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro.
Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office handles many of the cases involving an autopsy or toxicology report in the San Antonio metro. Hundreds of deaths are investigated by the office’s medical examiners every year to determine the cause and manner of death. The work of medical examiners in Bexar County involves:
- Assisting authorities
- Crime scene analysis
- Witness interviews
- Toxicology reports
- Autopsies
- Examining medical records
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office also maintains records of death cases that can be requested. The office also issues cremation permits.
Address:
7337 Louis Pasteur Drive
San Antonio, TX 78229
Phone Numbers:
Main Line: 210-335-4000
Investigations: 210-335-4011
Getting Help With Death Care in Bexar County After Medical Examiner Services
Dealing with a loved one’s death is already challenging enough but can be even harder to deal with when the medical examiner’s office is involved. Cremation.Green can act as a knowledgeable guide throughout the process and coordinate with the office to arrange transport and receive a cremation permit.
If you need assistance or information about how funeral services work after a medical examiner’s investigation, please contact us at your convenience. We’re available 24 hours a day by phone, text or email.
