Memorial Services Tailored to Your Needs

If your loved one appreciated sunsets, we can plan a service at sunset and send memorial lanterns into the sky afterward. If they loved a certain place to fish, we can do the service there. You and your family and friends can then enjoy a picnic and throw a line in the water … all to honor your person’s memory. Any of these examples can be beautiful service locations. It’s healing to gather where they loved to be. There is no right or wrong way to say goodbye. Truly honoring those we love is based on each individual … as it should be.

I’ll contact family and friends to gather stories and memories, then weave as many as possible into your loved one’s eulogy. Each member of the immediate family receives a copy of the eulogy in a protective sleeve. I’m also happy to write the obituary, which will be much shorter, of course, but still informative. Many families keep eulogies as heirlooms.

As friends and family arrive for the service, they will all be asked to write down a special memory of your loved one, fold it and place it in a memory box which Healing Embers will provide. Some families save the memory box until their loved one’s birthday or a special holiday or a day when they are really struggling with sadness. Each family makes this decision in their own way. But having the memories to go through again and again can help your heart feel lighter.
Guests receive small keepsakes as another way to honor your loved one.

If you don’t have special readings and prayers you would like to share, I provide families with a selection of readings, poems and prayers to choose from. I will also encourage your family and/or friends to choose ways to be involved in the service. I will also help children and teenagers with age-appropriate ways to be personally involved in the service. If you would like live music, I will provide contact info for a local professional musician. If you want to provide seating for guests, I’ll also provide a contact for folding chairs.