What is a Memorial Service?

A Powerful Story of Life

Experience has taught us that families today often want more than a traditional funeral. This can be done by bringing the personality and lifestyle of the deceased into the arrangements. By displaying or "streaming" digital photographs or videos, choreographing music and eulogies, or staging an event around a favorite pastime, a memorial service can tell a powerful story of life.

If a personalized memorial service is of interest to you and your family, here are some questions to think about:

What did your loved one like to do?
What was he or she like as an individual?
What was his or her profession and how did it shape their life?
Was your loved one spiritual?
Was he or she proud of their cultural or ethnic heritage?

Why a Memorial Service?

Rather than choosing to do things "the same old way," many families today want to celebrate the life of a loved one. Funeral professionals see this change as one of the many contributions to social change made by "Baby Boomers."

The National Funeral Directors Association notes, "As baby boomers age and find themselves having to plan funerals for loved ones and themselves, they are making funeral choices based on values that are different from previous generations. Baby boomers see funerals as a valuable part of the grieving process and are seeking ways to make them meaningful."

If you would like to consider an even more engaging and personally meaningful memorial service, a Celebration of Life may be the perfect concept on which to build.