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12 Ways To Celebrate A Lost Loved One’s Life

The pain that comes with losing someone is a feeling that never quite goes away. Sometimes, they’re so overwhelming that it makes you feel helpless and lost. Though you can’t bring back your loved ones, you can still honor them by celebrating who they were. We’ve put together a list of 12 ways to celebrate a lost loved one’s life — one for each month of the year.

1. Find a Memento

One of the best ways to remember someone is to hold on to something that belonged to them. It could be a letter, jewelry that you associate with them, a beloved jacket, or even a favorite book.

Every time you look at this memento, you can recall cherished memories and celebrate your loved one’s life.

2. Memorial Jewelry

During the Victorian era, the concept of memorial jewelry used to be quite popular. Today, you can create jewelry with your loved one’s ashes or even craft an engraved locket with a picture tucked inside.

3. Keep It Framed

Whether it’s a poem, a letter, or even a recipe, framing and hanging up their handwriting is a great way to remember and appreciate the person your loved one was.

4. Imbibe Their Values

Reflect on what made your loved ones special and the values that made them who they were. By adopting these values in yourself, you can continue to carry the legacy of your loved one.

5. Have a Meal with Them

Set a place for your loved ones and sit down to have a meal with them. This could be an excellent opportunity to reminisce and reflect on their lives while also allowing yourself to process your feelings.

6. Achieve a Life Goal

Fulfilling a goal your loved one couldn’t achieve could be a great way to honor them. It doesn’t have to be a big goal and can be something simple, like learning to knit.

7. Do Something They Enjoyed

Whether it’s listening to their favorite song or visiting a place they frequented, surrounding yourself with something they loved is a wonderful way to honor them.

8. Make a Scrapbook

Create a scrapbook to preserve their memories and remember who they were. Feel free to keep adding inside jokes, memorabilia, and more.

9. Become a Volunteer

Honor the legacy of your loved one by volunteering at a not-for-profit organization, helping charities raise funds, or even donating.

10. Pay Tribute

Organize an annual event in memory of your lost loved one. This is also a great way to encourage other people to keep them in their thoughts.

11. Hold a Memorial Service

Connect with other people by holding a vigil or planning an online memorial service. This way, you can remember all the different sides of your loved one.

12. Write a Poem

They say writing is a powerful tool you can use to process your emotions and express yourself. Your poem doesn’t have to be good or shared with other people; it can just be for you.

Bear in mind that everybody copes with loss and grief differently. While some of the above methods may work for you, they might not for someone else.

We hope this list of 12 ways to celebrate a lost loved one’s life helps you, and always remember that you are not alone. At Found and Sons Funeral Chapels Cremation Service, we offer grief and healing services to help you process your loss.

How to Manage Grief During the Holidays

When a loved one passes away, the hole in your heart that developed as a result of that person’s absence becomes substantially more noticeable around the holidays. You may feel unable to process the holiday joy happening all around you and feel guilty if you do start to enjoy yourself. Intellectually, you know that your dearly departed would want you to enjoy yourself, but emotionally you can’t snap out of the sadness and loss. This year, use these tips to help you manage grief during the holidays healthily and respectfully.

1. Incorporate the Loved One Into the Celebrations

When someone moves on, they don’t leave our hearts and minds. Feel free to casually, and in a celebratory and positive manner, talk about the deceased at appropriate times. Also, if you had holiday traditions with your loved one, you should maintain those traditions to hold on to their memory.

Humorous stories and looking at old pictures can give you the chance to look back at the joyful moments you shared fondly.

Read the room as you talk to ensure that you aren’t causing anyone to feel old wounds again, especially if it was a recent loss. If you notice everyone appears comfortable, you can continue as you deem appropriate.

2. Express Yourself

It’s not healthy to keep your grief, loneliness, and cynicism inside of yourself boiling up to the point that it explodes.

Productively express any influx of emotions. You can write your feelings down in a diary, write a song, paint a picture, or just let yourself cry. When you express your feelings, it releases them from inside of you. Many people feel a sense of relief or a weight removed from their shoulders. Without the heavy emotional baggage, you can allow yourself to replace those negative feelings with new, positive ones.

3. Establish a Support System

You probably aren’t the only person missing someone this holiday.

Talk to the people around you to find people who can offer emotional support. If possible, create a support system out of people who also loved the same person you did so that you can share stories and relate to each other.

Not all of us have the best support system built into the people around us. If that’s the case for you, you can find support in the form of a support group or therapy. Professional grief counselors can teach you specific methods on how to deal with your grief and prescribe medication if the situation caused a hormonal imbalance.

You are not alone. Found and Sons Funeral Chapels Cremation Service offers grief and healing services to help you get through the holiday season.

Contact a professional counselor today for more information on all of our services, including funeral services and cremation. Taking care of the details will give you more time to celebrate your loved one this holiday season.

What To Consider When Choosing Between Cremation or Burial

When planning ahead for end-of-life preparations, or making arrangements following the loss of a loved one, many families struggle with choosing between cremation or a traditional burial. Here are some things to consider that may help make the choice easier.

The Difference Between Cremation and Burial

Both cremation and burial practices have been in existence for centuries as a method of final disposition. During the cremation process, a body is incinerated until all that remains is ash. Whereas during a burial, the body is allowed to naturally decompose over time. Both are common and safe methods of handling remains.

With burials, the body may be interred in the ground or entombed in a mausoleum above ground. Bodies are embalmed before being placed in a casket. At Found and Sons Funeral Chapels & Cremation Service, we require caskets to be enclosed in a burial vault to prevent the ground from sinking.

Cremated remains, on the other hand, can be kept in an urn, scattered in a way that is meaningful to the deceased, placed in a columbarium, interred in the ground, or entombed in a mausoleum. Some religious practices may require that the cremated remains are kept together and stored or displayed in an approved location.

Both cremation and burial processes can take place at any time. For example, shortly after the deceased has passed away, after a traditional funeral service has taken place, or before a memorial service.

Consider the Deceased’s Wishes and Religious Affiliation

The choice between cremation or burial is often deeply personal. For example, some families prefer to choose burial out of a desire to show respect for their loved one’s body. Other families feel that allowing the body to decay has the opposite impact. This is why making pre-planning arrangements and having these conversations with family members is often so important.

Many religions have differing views on cremation and burials. The Roman Catholic Church has stated that bodies may be cremated, but the ashes must be buried in a cemetery or sacred location. Some Christian denominations (incl. Baptist and the Eastern Orthodox Church) do not support cremation, while others such as the Methodist Seventh-Day Adventists and Lutheran churches do. Judaism has traditionally recommended against cremation, although some sects have relaxed their stance over the years.

Alternatively, cremation is a required practice for some Eastern religions (Hinduism and Buddhism). Sikhs tend to prefer cremation, but do not prohibit burial, while Muslim cultures forbid cremation.

Additional Factors to Consider

Religious beliefs and personal preference are perhaps some of the most important things to consider when choosing between cremation and burial. However, there are other things to keep in mind as well, such as cost and environmental impact. Cremation is typically a more cost-effective service compared to burial.

When it comes to the environment, there are different points of view. The cremation process results in high emissions; however, burials require a significantly larger footprint of land.

Still struggling to choose? We understand, and we’re here to help. Our professional team can walk you through the pre-planning process, one step at a time, and help you choose the options that work best for you. Visit our website to learn more about our services, or call (800) 207-3530 for one-on-one assistance.

How To Write A Memorable Obituary

An obituary is a touching way to announce the death of a loved one and celebrate their life’s accomplishments. However, many family members find it difficult to write an obituary, especially if grief is creating writer’s block. Here are some tips that can help make the process smooth and ensure that your loved one’s memory is celebrated.

Set the Tone

There are many things to do when a loved one passes away and it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Pre-planning the funeral details can help alleviate some of the stress associated with loss. Grief support resources can help family members understand and process emotions.

Before you sit down to write the obituary, take time to set the tone. Do your best to remove any distractions, light your favorite candle if you’d like, and spend some time in meditation or prayer before you begin. This can help create space for meaningful reflection rather than checking off an item on the to-do list. Typing the obituary helps prevent any mistakes during posting, but many people choose to write the first draft by hand.

Start With the Basics

An obituary typically starts by listing the basic information about the deceased, such as when they were born, the date they passed, and any other relevant biographical information (Where did they live? Where did they go to school? What was their career like?).

Include a list of surviving family members, as well as any notable predeceased family members. You don’t need to include the entire family tree, but these people should be listed by name:

Parents
Their spouse/partner
Any children or step-children—along with their spouse/partner’s names in brackets, if applicable
Siblings, including half- and step-siblings
Grandchildren and great-grandchildren
Surviving in-laws, if relevant

If you’d like to highlight any additional family members, you can group them together by relationship—such as “five nieces, and two nephews.” People with very large families may choose to do this for grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well.

You may also want to include any notable information, such as the date of the service, a memorial donation fund, or anything else you’d like the public to know.

Add Some of Their Personality

Personality quirks are often what make your loved one who they are, so don’t be afraid to showcase that in their obituary. Make it personal by sharing their passions and hobbies. Don’t just focus on what they did in their life, talk about what their life was like, too. Be mindful of the length, however—many newspaper publications charge by the word. You may want to have a formal announcement for the paper and a more personal obituary for the funeral service.

Don’t Forget to Proofread

As with any important writing, don’t forget to proofread! Have someone else look it over, or run it through an online spelling and grammar program such as Grammarly.

At Found and Sons Funeral Chapel and Cremation Services, our goal is to help you navigate the end of your loved one’s life. We strive to make it a time of reflection, appreciation, and celebration, so that we may help you honor and preserve your loved one’s memory. Visit our website to learn more about our services or call (800) 207-3530 today.

What is Included in a Funeral Service?

Sadly, there will be a time where most of us have to deal with burying a loved one and coordinating their funeral. A funeral service helps families and loved ones honor the memories of the deceased and provide support to each other. Planning the service can be an emotional and exhausting experience, but knowing the process and understanding what it involves can make it a little less difficult. Read on to know what is included in a funeral service.

What Is Included?

Planning a funeral is a highly personal process. Your decisions will be shaped by your life experiences, relationship to the deceased, what the deceased wanted, what you can afford, and various other factors. Typically, a funeral service will include the following:

Placement and writing of an obituary in a local paper.
Use of the funeral home for a service.
Preparation of the body for burial. This includes embalming and clothing the deceased.
Viewing service.
Transportation services from the funeral home to the cemetery. In some cases, this may involve coordinating with local authorities to plan the traffic routes.
Burial at the gravesite.

These are typical costs, but there are often optional costs, such as purchasing a tombstone from the funeral home directly and coordinating an after-funeral event. There may also be an extended graveside service.

Cremation vs. Burial

When planning the funeral, it’s important to decide the form of final body disposition. Knowing the options can help you make an informed decision. Burial and cremation are the most commonly used methods.

With a burial, your loved one is embalmed, placed in a casket, and buried in a cemetery plot. This involves digging the grave, lowering the casket, and purchasing a tombstone.

In cremation, your loved ones’ remains are incinerated, and the ashes are returned to you. You can spread the ashes in your loved ones’ favorite place or press them into a specific object or item, like jewelry, to feel closer to your loved one.

Burials typically involve more work and are thus more expensive, as they often involve a graveside service and ceremony.

Different Definitions

The most important thing to realize when preparing for a funeral is that different homes may have different definitions of what is included in a funeral service. In most cases, you might be surprised by the costs, but the burial of a loved one is a terrible moment. Make sure you have a good idea of what you are purchasing before signing any contract. At Found and Sons, we present our customers with an itemized contract before they finalize any plans. We know that losing a loved one is extremely painful. That’s why we try to make it easier for people to plan and execute a funeral that will honor the deceased.

If you live in Culpeper or Fredericksburg, VA, and are looking for a compassionate, family-run business to manage your funeral service, consider Found and Sons Funeral Chapels & Cremation Service. At Found and Sons, we can coordinate all aspects of the funeral, everything from the obituary to the final goodbye. Find more information today by visiting our website or calling us at 1-800-207-3530.