Children grieve just as adults do. Any child old enough to form a relationship will experience some form of grief when a relationship is severed. As adults we may not view a child’s behavior as grief as it often is demonstrated in ways which we misunderstand as “moody”, “cranky”, “withdrawn” or other behavioral patterns which do not appear to us to be grief. When a death occurs children need to be surrounded by feelings of warmth, acceptance and understanding. This may be a tall order to expect of the adults who are experiencing their own grief and upset. Caring adults Continue Reading »

In conjunction with or sometimes in place of a clergy person, family or friends may share personal thoughts, memories and feelings about the deceased as part of the service. (Source: ICCFA FAQs: http://consumer.iccfa.com/faq)

At the funeral home, a memory table may be used to display personal items of the deceased. A memory board would have a collection of family photographs attached and can be displayed on an easel at the funeral home for visitors to reminisce about their life experiences with the deceased. (Source: ICCFA FAQs: http://consumer.iccfa.com/faq)

One way is to bring personal items into the funeral home to be displayed in or near the casket. Example:  An artist could have their artwork displayed. A frequent golfer might have a favorite putter placed in the casket. A person who quilted could have the casket draped with a quilt they made. An keen hunter or fisherman might have some of their personal effects or trophies displayed on a memory table. A person’s favorite rocking chair could be brought to the funeral home and placed next to the casket. Also, if the person was an avid baker, their favorite Continue Reading »