Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home

Veteran services at Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home

Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home in Westborough, MA supports veteran families with military funeral arrangements. In their own words: "Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home provides comprehensive assistance for veterans and their families. This includes helping to complete necessary forms to obtain VA burial benefits, which can cover burial or memorial services in a VA national cemetery. They also assist with securing memorial items, military funeral honors (including the playing of 'Taps,' a rifle detail, color guard, and flag presentation), and guidance on eligibility for headstones or markers. The staff helps families understand the requirements for veterans, service members, spouses, and dependents to qualify for these benefits and provides information on how to apply for burial allowances." On-site amenities include chapel, suited to flag presentation and honors ceremonies. Published pricing lists $4,995 for basic burial and $1,595 for direct cremation. Veterans may qualify for county or federal allowances toward these costs.

Veteran-related services offered include cremation services, funeral service followed by cremation, memorial service, graveside service, and scattering of the cremated remains. Each service is coordinated with the family and, where applicable, with the deceased's last unit or branch honor detail.

On-site facilities of note include chapel. These spaces accommodate full military honors details, family gatherings before and after the service, and the placement of the United States flag during the visitation period.

The nearest VA national cemetery is Massachusetts State Veterans Cemetery - Winchendon in MA, approximately 35 miles from Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home. Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home can coordinate transport, scheduling with the cemetery's interment office, and the timing of military honors with the receiving committal shelter.

Massachusetts has approximately 579 licensed funeral homes serving its population, of which a subset specifically lists military funeral honors and VA benefits assistance among their services. Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home is among them.

Frequently asked questions

What sets Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home apart

• Family-owned and operated by David and Andrew Pickering, representing multiple generations of service.
• Extensive history in Westborough, serving the area since 1880.
• Specialized assistance with Veterans Services, including navigating VA benefits and military honors.
• Emphasis on personalization, offering tribute videos, keepsakes, and live streaming for services.
• Provides comprehensive grief support resources, including a year of weekly grief messages and guidance for children.
• Offers convenient online pre-planning forms for future arrangements.

Military & veteran services offered

Burial & cremation services

On-site facilities

Affiliations & specializations

Religious traditions & languages

Religious traditions accommodated: All Faiths (general statement), Catholic, United Church of Christ (Congregational), Methodist, Non-denominational. Languages spoken at the home: English.

How honors are coordinated

Military funeral honors are guaranteed at no cost for any veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. The funeral home arranges the honors detail by contacting the deceased's last unit or the nearest active-duty installation of the appropriate branch and submitting the DD-214 to verify eligibility.

For requests less than 72 hours from service time, families can call the Department of Defense's expedited honors line at 1-877-MIL-HONR (1-877-645-4667). See the full honors protocol.