|
Ten Ideas For Creating a Memorial
After the Funeral Or Life Celebration
By Mary Hickey
Below you will find many memorial and remembrance ideas
that you can use to keep the memory of your loved one
alive. After the funeral, memorial service or life
celebration, many people wish to have something
permanent as a reminder of the person that they loved
and lost. It may help to think about what was important
to the person you lost. What did they value? What made
them smile? Perhaps by beginning there, the appropriate
memorial will present itself. Here are 10 ideas that may
help to guide you.
- You can plant a tree in their memory. You can find
tree seedlings on the internet. You could also buy a
tree at a local nursery.
- Donate a memorial bench: if they loved golf, their
favorite golf course may welcome the donation of a
memorial bench. You may also consider purchasing a
plaque or a brick in their name to help fund a community
project.
- Have a star in the sky named after your loved one.
- Plant a section in the garden each year with their
favorite flowers. You also may want to add a stepping
stone or rock with their name on it in their special
section of the garden. Consider each year sharing
flowers from that section of the garden with the family
and friends of your loved one.
- Start a college scholarship in their name.
- Create a video or DVD from photos and video or movie
clips. This video can be played at family gatherings and
on the person's birthday or anniversary of their death.
You can also easily make copies to share with close
friends and relatives.
- Create a book of memories for the deceased's family.
Have friends and family write on note cards and include
the note cards with photos in the book. You may also
want to include newspaper articles about the deceased,
the obituary etc.
- Create a memorial on the web - there are several
websites that allow loved ones to memorialize the
deceased through video, pictures, and voice recordings.
- Keep a journal of your memories, your thoughts and
what you learned from your loved one.
- Have your love one's photo placed on a stamp. This
also would be ideal for the thank you notes you will be
sending for the flowers, donations and the help you will
be receiving. Get more information at PhotoStamps.com.
On the anniversary of their death or on their birthday,
consider sending a card or a memorial gift to close
friends and relatives.
Dealing with a loss of a loved one is so difficult. It's
important to do what brings you peace-of-mind. Focusing
on a memorial may help you through the grief process and
allow you to focus on the unique and positive aspects of
your loved one's life and how that life can be
remembered and celebrated for years to come.
Mary Hickey is an urn designer and thought leader in the
funeral industry. She is co-founder of Renaissance Urn
Company, based in San Francisco. For some drastically
needed new life celebration ideas, contemporary memorial
poems and verses, visit her site Next Gen Memorials Urns
and Gifts
View memorial products such as engraved jewelry and
photo frames at Funeral Gifts.
You have permission to publish this article
electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as
the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your
publication is appreciated. Every article published MUST
include the author's bio, including the link to the
author's Web site (at the bottom of this message). |
