Information

Ten Ideas for Creating a Memorial After the Funeral or Life Celebration

By: Mary Hickey
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:40:01
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

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.

- 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 here http://photo.stamps.com/PhotoStamps/learn-more/. On the anniversary of their death or on their birthday, consider sending a card or a memorial gift to close friends and relatives.

- 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.

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 ones 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 http://www.nextgenmemorials.com. Hickey can be reached at hickey_mary@hotmail.com.

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Grief Loss category

  • The Gift - By: Angelique Ellerman
    This article was written to help those who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. Death is just another stage in life, one that can be learned from and help each of us to evolve. Know that you are not alone and it will get better with time.
  • Crisis - How Will You Cope? - By: Tamara Johnson
    Summarizes the grief process after crisis. Outlines the natural grief process that leads to healing.
  • Acknowledging and Supporting the Difficult Life Transitions of Those We Care About - By: Chellie Bonebrake
    From the end of a relationship with a person, house, or job to the diagnosis and treatment of a serious illness, we all encounter struggles in our lives. A hug, a laugh and a supportive message from someone who cares go a long way in providing comfort to a heavy heart. Many people are unable to be with a friend or loved one as they adjust to a difficult situation.
  • For The New Widow - Three Things To Remember - When The Moon In The Sky Hits Like An Axe In The Eye - By: Linda Della Donna
    It’s the end of the day, the end of the week, the end of the month.The cat’s in the cradle and the dog’s in the yard.Or, is it the other way around?
  • If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will) - By: Earl Erickson
    A song written by R. Beresford and H. Sanders and sung by country music’s living legend, George Jones , entitled, If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will) , has a much different meaning for me today.
  • Balloons... To Release, Detached And Let Go? - By: K Amber
    The past is over and nothing can be changed. We cannot accept the happening in the past so we tend to cling hard to that experience. We just let our future and present move fearing the past would repeat.
  • Communicating With Deceased Loved Ones - By: Yvonne Perry
    My interest in the Afterlife and spirit communication began in earnest in 2000, when my life literally fell apart. There was an entity that began to manifest to comfort and console me as I was going through my divorce. Whenever I cried, this loving presence touched me in a warm and motherly way.
  • What Does God Have To Say About Death? - By: Jennifer C
    The day we are born, we begin to die. It’s a given fact of life, yet one which we spend much of our lives trying to ignore or defy.The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die ..
  • I Will Never Die! - By: Yvonne Perry
    That is a bold statement, but you see, I no longer believe in death. My body may demise and my spirit may depart from it, but who I am (my essence) will NOT die.Some people view death as a fearful tragedy, the end of a life, a sad finality.
  • Life on the Other Side - By: Yvonne Perry
    If only we knew what was on the Other Side of this life! Knowing for sure what lies ahead might make a difference in how we view dying and aging and how we handle the death of a loved one.Much of our fear about death is rooted in delusions and distorted ways of looking at life and the world around us.