@zenvelo I don’t think it’s right to say that atheists cannot have funerals. You seem to be going by the second sentence of this Wikipedia article, but the full opening paragraph tells a different story:
“A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, respecting, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. Customs vary widely between cultures, and between religious affiliations within cultures.”
Note that this paragraph distinguishes between what a funeral is (“a ceremony for celebrating, respecting, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died”) and how they are typically carried out (“the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor”). Moreover, it notes that no specific custom is essential to something counting as a funeral, with a specific mention about religious affiliation (“customs vary widely between cultures, and between religious affiliations within cultures”).
If American Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus can all count as having funerals despite having different religious affiliations and different funerary customs, then there is no reason to say that atheists cannot do so as well. The beliefs expressed may be different, but the function is the same: to celebrate the life of the deceased.