Memorialization - New Approaches To An Old Theory

When we experience death, a part of us dies as well. As part of our grieving process, we memorialize the deceased in ways that are meaningful to us, which aids in our grief work. This typically involves holding a service and keeping something from the service for you to remember the deceased; possibly a flower from the spray, a memorial card from the service, or maybe even some cremated remains in a piece of keepsake jewelry. While these are all acceptable means of memorialization, the trends in this day and age are to have something more personal, something that the bereaved can display or keep with them permanently or pay tribute to the deceased in a way that matches their personal characteristics. Memorialization helps to ensure that our family and traditions live on. As funeral service professionals, we need to embrace the needs of our ever-changing consumers and keep educated on the new and emerging opportunities that one can do with regards to memorializing their loved ones.