Today is my 54th birthday. I am thankful for everything this great life has provided. Here is a lovely picture of me at the age of three with my two grandmothers. Grandmothers are a true embodiment of love.
Remember to celebrate life every day! My husband just sent me this joke. You might enjoy it.
An old man and woman were married for many years, even though they hated each other. Whenever there was a confrontation, yelling could be heard deep into the night. The old man would shout, “When I die, I will dig my way up and out of the grave and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life!”
Neighbors feared him. They believed he practiced magic because of the many strange occurrences that took place in their neighborhood. The old man liked the fact that he was feared.
To everyone’s relief, he died of a heart attack when he was 98. His wife had a closed casket at the funeral. After the burial, she went straight to the local bar and began to party as if there was no tomorrow.
Her neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked “Aren’t you afraid that he may, indeed, be able to dig his way out of the grave and haunt you for the rest of your life?” The wife put down her drink and said, “Let him dig. I had him buried upside down. And I know he won’t ask for directions.”
On this Memorial Day, let us all pause to remember those who have served and those who have died in the service of our country.
The Washington Post recently did a story about the 150th anniversary of the creation of Taps, the moving “day is done, gone the sun” lights out melody. Check it out.
Filed under: Field Notes
Got some great shots of the solar eclipse this evening in Albuquerque! What a once-in-a-lifetime event. These images were taken through solar sunglasses. Approaching eclipse:
The RING OF FIRE!
Family turned out for the 7:33 p.m. MT event:
Awesome event!
In the funeral industry, there are a number of companies that offer funeral services you may not know about. Funeral homes and cemeteries need to market themselves, help families ship bodies internationally, and know how to better serve their customers. And sometimes, you just need a little bling when you’re in Las Vegas.
These are the last of the YouTube videos recorded at the 2012 International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) convention and expo.
David R. Patterson with Global Mortuary Logistics explains his company’s services. They specialize in body shipment between the U.S. and Mexico. Check out what individuals need to know before going abroad!
Funeral One‘s Joe Joachim talks about the services they provide to funeral homes to simplify and offer online solutions. Think flowers, life tributes, websites and more.
Todd Borek talks about how Arrangers Academy provides a strategy for funeral directors to talk with grieving families in a way that helps everyone begin healing.
Some exhibitors at the 2012 ICCFA expo had nothing to do with cemeteries, cremation or funerals. Ashok Assomull with Fine N’Rhine shows fun sparkly things available for the ladies to buy. Something for the living!
At the ICCFA convention and expo, there was an entire subset of products and services for pets and their loss: urns for cremated remains, memorials, and disposition methods.
In this video, Joseph Opramolla with Gracious Remembrance demonstrates the unique features of the urns his company makes for pets. You can switch out photos without having to mess with the cremated remains inside the sturdy metal boxes that they make.
Last night’s field trip to historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta was an eye-opening experience. Here are some photos of outstanding stone monuments. Loved this Egyptian-type arch, erected by the Kontz family.
A number of the graves were from the mid-1800s and Victorian symbolism abounded. This headstone for a 22-month old child has a fallen dove and a very short tree trunk. The trunk symbolizes a life cut short. The shorter the truck, the shorter the life.
There were lambs on headstones for children. Check out the stone pillows below, representing eternal rest.
Our tour guide said there were 70,000 residents in the cemetery, and one-third of the dead were children. Infant mortality was so much more prevalent 100 to 150 years ago. 12,000 African-Americans are among those buried here, and there are large Jewish sections as well.
One of the famous “residents” is Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone With The Wind.” We visited her grave, pictured below. She died at the age of 48, killed by a drunk driver on Peachtree Street – she was walking across the street.
Glenda Stansbury with the Insight Institute talks about Certified Celebrants and how they help funeral homes provide emotionally healing, good goodbye services for grieving families. The ICCFA has been a big supporter of bringing the services of Certified Celebrants to funeral homes.
Listen to what Glenda has to say. Some info about Celebrants follows.
Are you “spiritual but not religious”? Do traditional funerals leave you cold? Have you told your family to not have a funeral for you?
Funerals or memorial services may be about the person who died, but they are for the people who continue to live and need a ceremony to process their grief. Avoiding holding a service often results in emotional trouble months later. However, a traditional “one-size-fits-all” service can leave bereaved families feeling just as emotionally unsatisfied.
Funeral Celebrants make all the difference for “a good goodbye”
What is a Funeral Celebrant?
A Celebrant is a person who is trained and certified to meet the needs of families during their time of loss. Celebrants provide personalized funeral services that reflect the personality and lifestyle of the deceased.
Why Do I Need a Certified Celebrant?
- A Celebrant offers an alternative to a service by a clergy person for those families not affiliated with a church or who do not wish to have a traditional religious funeral service.
- Celebrants are specifically trained to design a service that is completely personal, incorporating those unique stories, songs, and experiences that defined that person.
- Certified Celebrants have a library of resources available for readings, music, ceremonies, and personal touches.
- Certified Celebrants follow a Code of Ethics that ensures complete confidentiality in all dealings with the family.
How Do I Work With a Celebrant?
- The Celebrant will schedule a special meeting for your family to share memories, anecdotes and special moments in the loved one’s life. The essence of the service will be based upon the remembrances of the family. Participation by family and friends is encouraged.
- The Celebrant can serve at a funeral service, memorial service, graveside service, anniversary tribute, tree planting, bench dedication, or any other gathering designed to honor the deceased.
Who Certifies Celebrants?
The In-Sight Institute, which has certified more than 1,600 Celebrants in North America, provides the most comprehensive and sensitive training available. You and your family will be served by someone who understands the process and offers the very best services possible.
What is the Cost?
Your Celebrant will spend approximately 10 hours preparing and conducting your service. Fees for Celebrants vary by market, generally from $200 to $800.
P.S. – Gail Rubin, who writes The Family Plot Blog, is a Celebrant! You can find more information at http://agoodgoodbye.com/celebrant-services/
A few of the cemetery innovations at the 2012 ICCFA expo include a way to keep silk flowers in vases and new colorful memorial markers. I also spoke to an architect who designs new mausoleums to fit in with historic cemeteries. Check out these videos:
David and Ruby Broel supply silk flowers to 600 cemeteries around the U.S. and to the Kroger Corporation. The big problem in cemeteries is people think the floral tributes they leave get stolen. Actually, the wind is the culprit. Their company Flowers for Cemeteries came up with a brilliant design to keep flowers in vases (assuming the vases don’t get stolen).
Joel Hepburn-Brown talks about Life’s Memories glass memorial plaques in color – an innovation for cemetery markers! No fading over time, and you set them into headstones. The company is based in Australia and just came to America in 2011.
David Dahl, president of Milne Construction, points out some of the innovations his company brings to the construction of new mausoleums in historic cemeteries, in the U.S. and around the world.
Here are two glass artists represented at the 2012 ICCFA expo. The neat thing about the art you’ll see in these videos is that cremated remains are embedded in the glass.
Lennart Caspersen, representing Beverly’s Tropical Glass Design Studio in Naples, Florida, shows off some very creative art glass.
Kent Kahlen with Kahlen Studio Art Glass in Orange, California talks about his glass art with cremated remains incorporated.
A wide range of memorial markers dotted the ICCFA expo, some larger than life, others small enough to fit on top of an urn. I spoke to two sculptors displaying their wares.
Val Grinshpun creates sculptures for both people and pet urns. His company Carvax, Inc. creates Timberland urns that feature bronze sculptures on top and photos on the front that can be changed depending on the interests of the deceased.
Then there was Max Greiner, a sculptor of monumental works that focus on Christian themes. Christians seeking to glorify God have sought out his work to use as monuments on their graves. He also makes smaller versions of his sculptures that can be used on urns. He and his associate were kind enough to give me a blessing while I visited his booth.
