Some families find comfort and peace of mind, in knowing their loved one is being treated with the utmost respect throughout the entire cremation process, once they visit our crematory or see images of it on our website.
Click on the BLUE WORDING located in some paragraphs, to go directly to that section on our website. This will save some time, without having to look through the sections listed on the left. After reviewing any section, please click on the "reverse arrow" (top left) to return to this "Home" page.
$695 12-Step Complete Cremation: For families wanting more services, care and attention than what the FTC requires for a Direct Cremation, then visit this section to view what is available for the 12- Step Option. A break down of the 12-steps is explained in the 12-Step Shorter Version and a much more in depth explanation of government benefits and what to be aware of, is explained in the 12-Step Longer Explanation Sections on the left.
Urns, Jewelry, Keepsakes and other cremation memorial products can be viewed at this LINK. After reviewing, please click the "reverse arrow" (top left) to return to this "Home" page.
Federal Law requires all funeral homes to price a basic, no services cremation, that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in their Funeral Service Rule, calls a "Direct Cremation." The only charge that the FTC requires funeral homes to itemize for this service, is the selling price of the container to hold the loved one for the cremation itself. The container is also required to meet FTC guidelines, which ours does, and we charge $0.0 for it. No cash advances are included for this service, such as, any obituaries, death certificates, register books, prayer cards, viewing of remains, any gatherings or memorial services, etc. That is why the U.S. Government names this service a "Direct Cremation" and they also require funeral homes to do the same thing for a burial, which the FTC calls a "Direct Burial."
$550 Direct Cremation SECTION: Families who want no services or very limited contact with a funeral home or funeral director should visit this area of our website.
Forms Needed for a Cremation SECTION: Families or legal representatives, can print-off and complete the forms required for: (1.) Authorizing a Cremation; (2.) Starting the Death Certificate process for either a burial or a cremation service; or (3.) have some Guidelines or Suggestions to follow when Writing an Obituary. The 1st two forms are the only ones required by law for a cremation and can be either faxed or scanned and e-mailed back to our funeral home. (please scan documents or forms, as a PDF file and photos as a JPEG file) If doing a prearrangement, the forms can be mailed, or if local, dropped-off at the FH. We can also, pick them up locally, or complete the forms in the home, if requested. Please do not scan and e-mail a loved one's obit, it needs to be typed into an e-mail or sent as a "WORD" document and forwarded to our funeral home to: bowdrejb@gmail.com or to: jim.bowdre@aol.com (Please call to make sure we received any e-mailed information.) Families purchasing the 12-Step Package that do not have access to a computer, but want to publish an obit for a loved one, can simply bring us the information and we will make sure it gets taken care of.
Placing Newspaper Obituaries: Please REVIEW this section before starting a loved one's obituary, in order to learn how costly obits are, especially important if using the Sun News. Learn what procedures to follow when placing obits in newspapers. A huge misconception exist in the marketplace about obituaries, they are "NOT FREE" and haven't been for years. When Wall Street or corporate chains take over an industry, prices rise dramatically and nothing is free, and that's what has happened to the daily newspaper industry. Because of pranks or jokes perpetrated by some kids in placing false obits, most newspapers, because of fear of being sued, will only accept obits from funeral homes. In the response to newspapers over charging for obits, some families place a short obit in newspapers and then direct family and friends to the much longer and complete obit, complete with pictures, to a funeral home website. This could save the family several hundred dollars and is a free service with the 12-Step Cremation Option. Families simply end an obit with, Guest Book available at MyrtleBeachFuneralHome.com
In the "When There is No Family" or responsible family, READ what caregivers, nurses, friends, neighbors and responsible government agencies should be aware of, but in most cases, are not.
Cemetery Guidelines: VA or Civilian: See what OPTIONS you need to consider when calling and dealing with any private, corporate or government owned cemetery.
Importance of Offering Refrigeration: We have multiple refrigerated morgue facilities, larger than any of the medical centers in our area. This advantage allows us to offer viewing of loved ones remains in the event of an autopsy or if family members live out of state and can not arrive in a timely manner. This advantage also allows families to have closure, because research shows the human mind struggles with accepting the death of a loved one, until they can see for themselves that death has occurred. This option is offered in the 12-Step Cremation Plan at no additional charge.
We are LOCATED in the heart of the "Grand Strand" just South of the Myrtle Beach Airport and the "Back Gate" or Farrow Parkway (road that leads to "Market Common") directly across from TV 13 and McDonald's on the ocean side of U.S. "17 Bypass South" and NOT "17 Business" or "Kings Hwy." With the new road in front of our FH now completed, we can now serve our community better by having direct access to the "Market Common" and the city owned, Ocean Woods Cemetery, without having to drive back onto U.S. 17. You can also, now turn into Farrow Parkway, (Back Gate entrance) drive 20-30 yards and take the 1st right, (brick sign reads, ALEXAN - Withers Preserve) we are the 1st building on the left. (see the "Directions" tab on the left) We are always available 24-7, to answer questions, or to help families in their time of need. Please call ahead when setting an appointment. (Local No. 293-4505; Toll Free No. 1-877-679-4505)
Griefwords: In this SECTION learn how to cope with the death of a loved one and what to say in any type of situation when a loved one has passed away, or a family member of a friend or co-worker has passed. Learn what to say and how to help children and teenagers cope with the death of a loved one.
$2,995 Full Traditional Burial Service SECTION: Includes a metal casket, available in a choice of five colors, services of FD and Staff, local removal to our FH, embalming, viewing or visitation service, eat-in dining area, funeral chapel ceremony or gathering service, "Memorial Tributes" video displayed on our widescreen TV's, on-line "Guest Book," and hearse service to the cemetery, for a total funeral home package price of $2,995, with "Green Burials" for $2,395. Families can also pick and choose different services offered in the $2,995 package price and have a traditional burial for even less.
Average Total Cost For a Burial: If you are interested in knowing what the "average" cost or charges are for a "Traditional Burial" from the Grave Plot, Grave Opening Charges, Monument Cost, Mausoleum Cost, plus all the services and merchandise from the typical MB area funeral home, all totaled together or, in other words, the total cost for everything, then read the SECTION entitled, "Traditional Burial Package, $2,995" on this website.
Parking Facilities: We have ample parking for visitations or other services by utilizing our recently expanded parking lot, as well as permission to use "The Father's House Church" parking next door, just a few feet away and allows us to offer more parking facilities than any funeral home in Horry or Georgetown County.
Our FH Facility: (VIEW FACILITIES) We offer one of the area's newest on-site, computer operated crematories, that's not decades old like others. Because of this improved technology, we are able to place our crematory in the interior portion of our funeral home next to our chapel. We provide a comfortable dedicated 115 seat chapel, with which we offer "celebration of life, memorial or funeral ceremonies" for cremation or burial services. On the very rare occasion, when over-flow chapel services occur, we have two closed circuit T.V. rooms available, which then allows us to accommodate over 185 attendees comfortably for a service. We are the only fairer priced provider in our area with an eat-in dining room, with kitchen, for families and friends to use at no charge, during visitations. Friends preparing the dining area for a reception that's to follow the funeral or memorial service, can actually view and hear services on our closed circuit T.V. while they are working.
Memorial Tributes Video: For families bringing photos of their loved one, to show as a video memorial, we can scan up to 40 pictures, at no charge, to be presented as a "Life Tribute" video during the visitation or funeral services held at our FH for either a cremation or a burial service. We would need the maximum 40 pictured, (2-3) days before scheduled services, or families can bring to us, any number of already scanned JPEG images they want to use and we can show them as a video memorial during services as well. We also provide "catering services" for after-service gatherings held at the funeral home.
Music Selections: Our "state of the art" music room is internet driven through an i-Pad, using iTunes and can play most any song and artist selected by the family, thereby, helping to create a more meaningful "life celebration in music" in the loved one's memory. Usually 2 to 4 songs are selected by the family to be played during a chapel service, please let us know the song and artist selections the day before the service.
We are the only funeral home in the area with a "Baby Grand" piano for live music selections in our main chapel and an upright piano in our smaller services room. A viewing of the loved one, plus a cremation with a celebration of life service, combined with use of facilities for a visitation service or gathering of family and friends is $995. This service also includes the memorial tributes video. This price is approximately $3,000 less than the other FH's in our area, offering facilities that can seat over 185 attendees for services, or that have dining facilities for catering. (see "Our Facility and Services" Tab) Families that want a Memorial Service only, with their loved one's cremation, can do so during normal hours for $795.
We Serve A Large Area: We provide quality service with attention to detail and many families say, offer "the most reasonable and fair prices of all funeral homes in the area, as well as the most helpful and educational website." For this reason, we serve families from Charleston to the Midstate, from Calabash-Ocean Isle, Bolivia to Whiteville, NC and over through the Pee Dee with our $695, 12-Step Complete Cremation Option or our $550, Direct Cremation Option, with a modest mileage add-on for the loved ones' out-of-town removal back to our funeral home. Because of the value received, for the price and services we provide, the families we serve have made our single operated funeral home, one of the leading providers for Direct Cremations in SC. We will continue working hard to earn your trust and confidence.
Our Owner - Manager, Jim Bowdre, a former teacher and Summa Cum Laude graduate is licensed actively in both North and South Carolina, receiving his first active license in Virginia and National Board Certification in 1974. After taking early retirement with a former "Fortune 500" company, he joined the staff of Myrtle Beach Funeral Home and as owner, does not take a salary from the business, preferring to keep his business overhead lower, so he can offer greater value to the families he serves. (See SECTION on "Why are FH prices so different")
Review what "financial support" the Veterans Administration and Social Security provide when a loved one passes away by reading the longer explanation version of the "12-Step Complete Cremation SECTION" on the left, just below the "Urns and Cremation Products" SECTION.
Our Mission or Goal: is to help you know and understand the "total funeral and death-care process," as well as the advantages of using our services. "Knowledge is Power" and the more knowledge a person has on any particular event or subject in life, the more power they have in dealing with that event. This website is designed to give families and caregivers the knowledge and power they need in dealing with the loss of a loved one, as well as learning what is required legally when dealing with any U.S. based funeral home chosen, so you will not be taken advantage of, in your time of need.
Death Under HOSPICE Care, a HOSPITAL or a CORONERS Case Death: In the Sections dealing with "Where" or under what circumstances a loved one dies, choose the Tab you are interested in and learn what "Health Care" and "Death Care" Professionals, as well as families or legal representatives, have to do when a loved one dies, no matter where or when.
Death Certificate Process: Read this SECTION to clear-up a lot of misinformation that families have, or are told. Some families think they can get a death certificate immediately after a loved one passes, or that the funeral home prints them off in their office and affixes the SC State Seal, or that the seal has to be a "Raised Seal," all of which are not true. Read this section to learn what really happens when processing or securing a "Certified Death Certificate."
Most of the information on this website, although lengthy and in great detail, was researched and gathered from multiple sources during my 25 years of teaching continuing education classes to funeral directors and embalmers. This educational material can only be found in this concise format on this website. When being presented before professional organizations, I always hear the same comments, "I didn't know that" or "I will use this for staff training." I've even had funeral directors from outside the MB area, call and ask for permission to use some of the information on this website for their website. Hope you get something useful and educational as well.
Settling an Estate Guidelines: In this SECTION learn when it is necessary to probate a will and what surviving family, executors and personal representatives need to consider when settling an estate or business affairs of their loved one.
In "Why are FH PRICES so different" and "What To Ask When Price SHOPPING" sections, learn why different funeral home prices can vary so much, as well as, what terminology to use when calling a funeral home inquiring about their prices for different services.
Obituaries: After selecting the name of the loved one first, family and friends can then sign a "Guest Book" leaving parting thoughts about their friend and loved one, from virtually anywhere in the world. This will help create a more meaningful "life celebration" on the web. You can also read the "Guest Book" as well, and maybe learn something new about your friend and loved one. Families can also request the special "Family Login" information, that allows them to enter into their loved one's memorial tribute and add photos, life stories, or add to the obituary, and even redesign the memorial theme itself, if they so choose. The memorial tribute usually stays on our website for 18 months.
We hear from families, caregivers and health care professionals, all the time, how helpful the information on this website has been. Thank you for taking your time in visiting us and hopefully some worthwhile information was received, as well.
Please call 843.293.4505 any time of the day or night, if you have questions or concerns. You may email us, as well, anytime by selecting the "Contact Us" tab on this website. Our Toll Free Number at the FH is 877.679.4505.
Our Fax No. 843.293.4507. Our E-mail Address: jim.bowdre@aol.com or bowdrejb@gmail.com
Importance Of Offering Refrigeration: We have multiple refrigerated morgue facilities at our funeral home, with a larger capacity than any of the Medical Centers in our area. This then allows us to offer family and friends viewing of their loved one, without having to pay the added expense of $600 to $1,000 for embalming, in the event of an autopsy or if family members live out of state and cannot arrive in a timely manner.
This benefit allows families to have some closure and "peace of mind" before the cremation, because research shows, the human mind struggles with accepting the death of a loved one, until they can actually see for themselves that the death has occurred.
We are LOCATED in the heart of the "Grand Strand" just South of the Myrtle Beach Airport and the "Back Gate" or Farrow Parkway (road that leads to "Market Common") directly across from TV 13 and McDonald's on the ocean side of U.S. "17 Bypass South" and NOT "17 Business" or "Kings Hwy." With the new road in front of our FH now completed, we can now serve our community better by having direct access to the "Market Common" and the city owned, Ocean Woods Cemetery, without having to drive back onto U.S. 17. You can also, now turn into Farrow Parkway, (Back Gate entrance) drive 20-30 yards and take the 1st right, (brick sign reads, ALEXAN - Withers Preserve) we are the 1st building on the left. (see the "Directions" tab on the left) We are always available 24-7, to answer questions, or to help families in their time of need. Please call ahead when setting an appointment. (Local No. 293-4505; Toll Free No. 1-877-679-4505)
