Terry Bloodworth has done it again, and created beautiful one of a kind blown glass urns.
Click on pix for more info.
Memorial Service Ideas
Fall Garden Greetings
While wandering about the garden and weaving our own web, we just about crashed through this work of art. Should have got a better angle on this, you could actually see the web shooting out of his blow hole!
Next, we want to show you a quick and easy example of a memorial garden we’ve done in a small side bed on the west side. And yes, we have weeds.
We’ve used the iron garden angel and a personalized garden memorial stone that can be customized with your choice of artwork and font styles. The pieces weather well, and are on a small enough scale to be discreet in your garden as well as easily relocated if needed.
For families that have chosen to scatter the ashes of a loved one or just want a special place to remember a special person or pet this is an easy and cost effective solution.
Fall is an excellent time to start your memorial garden.
Surprise Judgments
A client in Texas tells us that the funeral director was surprised when she booked a cremation, casket, and chapel for viewing/visitation. “Well, you know he’ll have to be embalmed.” he responded.
She did. That’s what she wanted.
She had her father-in-law’s blue cloisonne urn that she’d bought earlier and wanted the same thing for his son.
Another client selected a keepsake urn for her father-in-law who was Jewish. Even though Jewish law and tradition is to be buried in the ground, he chose cremation to honor his parents who were cremated, (not by choice) in a concentration camp crematorium.
The moral of the story here is just because a family has chosen cremation doesn’t mean that they won’t have a traditional service, and we can’t make judgments based on culture and religion.
Goodbye Joe Part Two
Greetings! Is Mr. Fancy Pants offering up a bowl of cherries? Very symbolic.
Last Sunday was the first funeral I’d been to where no body was present. And I don’t mean “nobody”. Joe Rook’s funeral was big. Over 1200 guests according to the funeral home.
It’s likely that for many of the people there, it was the first time to attend a funeral without a body present. Even though cremation is on the rise here, we’re still pretty traditional in Southwest Missouri.
The main chapel seats 500 and guest spilled over into three other rooms. We watched the service on a giant screen. Although I could hear Joe’s granddaughter singing, I wish I could have seen her. She was off-camera.
This was my first Masonic Service and first time to visit the new facility at Greenlawn Funeral Home East. The new location is gorgeous, modern design, soothing decor and a far cry from their north location, that hasn’t been updated in 40 years.
The family chose to have a one hour visitation before the service and the funeral directors were getting nervous about an obvious time crunch (they had another service scheduled later) and handled the crowd in an orderly fashion.
Impressive.
This post is not intended to be a critique of the service, only an observation of the service and new facility at the largest funeral provider in this market.
I’ve been meditating on Joe’s tag line: “It’s a beautiful day in the Ozarks!” and hope you will too. Have a great week!
Sir William Wallace
One of our clients shared the story of Sir William Wallace, or just “Wallace” to the many friends and family that knew him. Even the three cats he shared a home with are grieving.
Wallace was a well-heeled English Mastiff, large and imposing but gentle in spirit. He was the soccer and rugby team mascot, unofficial therapy dog, companion and major drooler.
Wallace was only five years old but impacted many lives. He died over the weekend from an autoimmune disorder. Wallace was a big boy, weighing in at 200 pounds and his owner needed an adult urn to accommodate his friend plus a few mementos.
His owner knows that in the future he’ll get another dog, but is re-thinking the breed. Wallace was a hand-full based on his size, and near the end it was a team effort to handle him. Not to mention the yearly interior painting that took place, based on the volume of drool that Wallace produced! Despite these minor details, Wallace was a pampered pooch who shared a bed with his owner and one of the cats, owned the couch and was loved by all.
The neighborhood is planning a memorial garden filled with mums this fall in Wallace’s memory.
RIP big boy.