The Charleston County Coroner’s Office reports rising applications from funeral homes for cremation permits as more families opt for an urn of ashes over a traditional burial.
Some said that the change here and statewide is happening because the alternative to a typical funeral has become more acceptable. Others think cremation fits better in a mobile society where people are less likely to have a spot reserved in the church graveyard.
“The trend is catching up with us here. Things don’t change as rapidly down South,” said Overton Ganong, spokesman for the Funeral Consumers Alliance of South Carolina.