5 Ways To Make A Memorial Personal

A memorial to a loved one is one of the most personal things you will ever have to choose in your life or for another. Here are 5 ways in which honoring the memory of the recently passed can keep their memory alive in a way unique to them.

Etching Designs

An image etched on to granite can be a particularly touching tribute to a loved one. Most symbols and pictures can be incorporated onto the memorial. Whether it be a religious symbol, type of flower or personal logo, whatever was important to your cherished person can be reflected in an etching design.

Traditional Kerbed Memorials

Kerbed memorials are ideal for those who appreciate traditional burials, a style that has been popular for many years. The entire area of the grave can be marked out by the granite edges. The interior of the memorial can be filled in with whatever would be most appropriate for your loved one, whether it be soil for growing flowers or a solid piece of granite for an elegant and clean appearance.

Special Memorials

Your loved one may have had time to make decisions as to their burial before passing, and if they desired a specially made memorial they can have their particular design made. Most ideas can be reproduced in stone, so perhaps the best way to honour your loved one would be to have something unique carved for them, such as a religious statue or even a granite bench.

Flower Container

A common feature of resting places is a flower vase which can be placed on the base of a headstone or in the center of a kerbed memorial. Although they appear frequently at burial places, this is simply because they are a lovely way to add a personal touch to your loved one's grave. Leaving flowers at a grave is a touching sentiment that is very personal to those who are being remembered and those who are remembering; leaving a favorite flower at a resting place is a dignified way of showing that they will always be remembered.

Photo Plaque

If a visual memory of your loved one would be perfect for them, ceramic or hand-etched photo plaques can be added to memorials. This adds the ultimate personal touch and a way in which the best moments of a cherished life can be immortalized  Whether ceramic or hand-carved, the photo plaque can easily be maintained as part of a granite or marble memorial.

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Cremation and Permanent Remembrance

Years ago, cremation was seen as "just cremation." Families would hear a family member say, "just cremate me." What many families didn't realize then was that such an approach could limit the ability of the family and friends to fully say goodbye to a loved one, and to successfully move through the grieving process. At the loss of a loved one, there is no such thing as "just." The emotional needs of the family and friends at the loss is exactly the same for families whether they choose cremation or burial. Learning about your choices with cremation ensures that you and your family can benefit from the time-tested approaches that help families move from grieving to remembrance.

Why Pre-Plan Final Arrangements?

YOU EASE THE BURDEN ON YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
AND YOU TAKE CONTROL OF HOW YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED.

But the one decision that most of us put off talking about is the one that has to do with the inevitable day when we’re not here to make those decisions together. The discussion of dying and the decisions that have to be made by the surviving partner and children are difficult ones, but they will have to be made. And most families that have gone through that process will tell everyone that it is far better to make those decisions far in advance of death when the mind is clearer and the emotions aren’t so overwhelming. That is what pre-planning final arrangements is about. It is for you to carry out your wishes and for your family not to be burdened of deciding what you wanted. Pre-planning is about love.

In the past, pre-planning final arrangements wasn’t as important as it is today. Final arrangements used to be nearly the same for every person in a family or community, from the schedule of events, to the funeral home, to the hymns, to the cemetery. For better or worse, things are a lot more complicated today.

In this short video Mr. William Russo talks about the importance of pre-planning and the misconceptions people have about it.

Learn More: http://www.remembranceprocess.com/remembrance-process/step-one/pre-planning

A How-To Guide For Funeral Arrangements

Here you can learn what to do if a friend or loved one has just died or if death is expected sometime soon. The following guides will take you through the steps of arranging a funeral from making the first call when someone dies to the various matters to be handled following the funeral.

1. First Call

   The deceased is still at the place of death and a “first call” needs to be made to arrange for transportation of the deceased to a funeral home or other funeral service facility. 

2. Deceased Transportation

   The First Call results in an initial transfer of the deceased from the place of death to a funeral home or other facility. In some cases, a second transfer may be required either — locally to another funeral home — or to another city for ceremonies and burial. 

3. Funeral Services

   Planning a funeral involves making many decisions concerning funeral ceremonies, funeral products and final disposition of the body. For assistance in arranging funerals people usually turn to funeral directors. .

4. Cemetery Arrangements

   If cemetery property has not already been purchased, it will be necessary to meet with a cemetery representative to purchase a burial or entombment space. In some cases, the funeral director can make these arrangements on behalf of a family. 

5. Funeral and Memorial Products

   There are various options for purchasing caskets, grave markers, and other funeral merchandise. These products are available through a funeral home, cemetery, monument company, or other retailer. 

6. Estate, Financial and Administrative Matters

   Following the funeral, the affairs of the deceased must be put in order. These matters range from sending death notices to filing death benefit claims to changing title of the deceased’s assets. 

A Consistent Place of Healing- Wall of Memories

A Consistent Place of Healing- Wall of Memories

This memorial wall is open to anyone who wishes to place a permanent, bronze plaque.  The plaque is custom made for your loved one and can include name, dates, personal history, poem, emblems, artwork, even cast bronze portraits. The Wall of Memories is located on the center pathway on the south side of the Elm Dormitory.

Also, many families are choosing to scatter the cremated remains of their loved one in a favorite place; the ocean, or even in the skies above. While that may seem fitting at the time, it means that you do not have a consistent place to connect with the memories of the person you loved so dearly.

Having such permanent place - in a cemetery, mausoleum, or cremation garden - that can be visited regularly by family and friends is an essential part of the time following a death. It becomes a focal point of memorialization, and gives everyone a special place to go to remember your loved one, or to commemorate important occasions. It can help to make a birthday or anniversary less painful.

A permanent place to reflect on your loved one becomes a way of connecting to a family's past. Visiting the resting place of grandparents or great-grandparents may provide children with an anchor to their personal history. It is a connection to the past, to love shared. It truly honors the relationship you still have – and will always have – with that person.

Fairmont Memorial Park

Mausoleum crypts and niches are available for families choosing a burial or cremation with inturnment. Mausoleum entombment is considered to be the finest type of burial known to man. A mausoleum’s solid construction signifies durability, devotion and honor.

I'll Remember You

This beautiful video is intended to be a gift to families who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. We know that death is difficult, stressful and confusing. We believe, however, that remembrance is good. And this touching video is a reminder of all the ways we can remember and cherish family members forever. The video is a poem and a song on film, that we hope you can watch many times—helping you begin the process of moving from grieving to remembrance.

The Stages Of Grief

What are the stages of grief? A search of the internet will turn up articles on 4 stages, 5 stages and even 7 stages of grief. The concept of stages has evolved from the “5 stages of dying” popularized by Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her book, On Death and Dying, originally published in 1969. According to Dr. Kübler-Ross, the stages that a dying person goes through are:

1. Denial and Isolation — initially the person denies that the situation exists, “It cannot possibly be,” and may withdraw and isolate himself from others.
2. Anger — the person becomes angry about the situation and may place blame on herself or others, “It’s not fair that this is happening to me.”
3. Bargaining — the person makes a deal with God, “Let me live and I will do this …”
4. Depression — the person is overcome with sadness and despair, “It’s hopeless, why bother with anything?”
5. Acceptance — feelings of anger and sadness have subsided and the person accepts the reality of the situation and decides to make the best of it.

The Real Meaning of the Stages

Dr. Kübler-Ross’ stages have since been applied to grief and other forms of personal loss, such as loss of a job or onset of a disability. In her book, On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss, Dr. Kübler-Ross says,

“The stages have evolved since their introduction, and they have been very misunderstood over the past three decades. They were never meant to help tuck messy emotions into neat packages. They are responses to loss that many people have, but there is not a typical response to loss, as there is no typical loss. Our grief is as individual as our lives.”

She goes on to say of the 5 stages, “They are tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. But they are not stops on some linear timeline in grief. Not everyone goes through all of them or goes in a prescribed order.”

How Families are Remembering Their Loved Ones

This video shows how families are using traditional and new methods to create personal and meaningful, permanent remembrances for their loved ones. You will see touching and inspirational approaches to creating monuments and memorials that tell the story of a life, in words, pictures, and images. New technologies allow us to be creative in ways that most of us have never imagined. These examples of monuments and memorials show how we all can leave a mark in a very special and personalized way.

The Remembrance Process℠ Video

More info at http://www.remembranceprocess.com

The Remembrance Process℠ captures the essence and importance of this human need, encapsulating the care-giving continuum before death through the farewell process with time-tested ways to help families move from grief to remembrance.