Blog | Lifesong Funerals

Most of the time after Monticello, FL cremations, a memorial service will be held to remember the deceased. Memorial services can be held anywhere, including in funeral homes, churches, community halls, private homes, or in some place – like the ocean or at the site of an event – that had special significance to the deceased. Since memorial services are often held weeks or months after the death of a loved one, those who are planning to attend have time to make plans for travel and lodging.

Part of planning a memorial service is to make sure it captures what the family wants most remembered about their loved one. There are some questions that can help gather just the right information. What were the key attributes of a loved one that made them unique and lovable? How were they shaped by the events of their lives, their culture, their education, their profession, and their achievements? What role did family play in their lives?

Answering these questions can create the tenor and the content of the memorial service and how that should be presented or should unfold as part of the service.

Then it’s time to get down to the details of the memorial service. The first order of business is whether the memorial service is going to be public (open to everyone) or private (by invitation only). If the memorial service is going to be private, then who will be invited to attend (RSVPs should be included with invitations if food and drinks are going to be served so that there is enough on hand to take care of all the guests)?

The next planning element of a memorial service is deciding where it will be held and when it will be held. If the memorial service is private, this decision may be based on the consensus of where and when is most convenient for everyone who is invited, in terms of coordinating schedules, travel, and lodging. If the memorial service is public, then the family will chose the place and time that works best for them.

Just like with a funeral service, a person needs to be designated to oversee the memorial service to make sure that it’s put together well and it goes along smoothly from beginning to end. Funeral directors can do this or friends and family members can do it. Sometimes, clergy may be involved, but, unlike funeral services, they don’t often take a lead role.

Next comes the format of a memorial service. Memorial services are often less formal and strictly structured the way funeral services can be. They tend to include more storytelling, visual presentations, and music, with the opportunity for anyone who may want to speak to honor or pay tribute to the loved one being allowed to.

However, even though the format tends to be less structured, there still needs to be an order in which the memorial service unfolds.

Once the format of the memorial service is decided, then the music, readings, and designated speakers should be chosen.

Last, if food and beverages are going to be served, first decided what is going to be served (snacks, lunch fare like sandwiches, salads, and chips, or entrees and what kind of drinks for each type) and then how it’s going to be served. Many times, a potluck where everybody brings a dish based on a theme is how food is served at memorial services. But this part can also be catered, which means a caterer will need to be booked for the service.

For information about planning memorial services after Monticello, FL cremations, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lifesong Funerals & Cremations is here to assist you. You can visit our funeral home at 20 S. Duval St., Quincy, FL 32351, or you can call us today at (850) 627-1111.

With cremations in Crawfordville, FL, you will most likely see black being worn by the family of the deceased and the mourners who join them for funeral or memorial services. Black has been used by the Western world to symbolize death and mourning since the Middle Ages.

However, it became institutionalized during the reign of Queen Victoria (England) during the 1800’s. Very detailed ways to mourn – as well as lengths of time to mourn (men had the shortest and women had the longest, drawn in stages of months and years) – were expected of respectable people (that mean they had wealth and position).

Women not only wore black clothing, but they also wore mourning bonnets and black veils across their faces for six months after the death of a spouse. Black jewelry, such as rings and brooches, also became popular during this period, because it was considered bad taste for mourners to wear any of their regular jewelry.

Gradually everyone in both England and America began wearing black as the color of mourning.

In eastern Asia, however, the color used to symbolize death and mourning is white, which is a symbol of rebirth and purity. Buddhism is the most common religion in this part of the world, and Buddhists believe that when people die, they are reincarnated to another life. Family members of the deceased wear white in hope that their loved ones will be born again.

During the 1500’s in France, white (deuil blanc) became the color of mourning for grief-stricken children and single women. This transitioned into a custom throughout Europe for reigning queens. Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587), began wearing white after she lost three immediate family members in the space of a year and a half.

Interestingly, although black became the symbol of deep mourning during Queen Victoria’s reign, she herself requested that she be buried with a white veil covering her face, that white horses draw her funeral carriage, and that a white pall cover her casket.

In South Africa, the color of death and mourning is red (a color that symbolizes happiness in China and is forbidden at Chinese funerals). Red has been chosen to represent all the blood that was shed during Apartheid. It is a color that represents honor and patriotism.

Red is everywhere in South African culture, including in their flags, because much blood was shed as native South Africans struggled to the death to break free of both English and Dutch colonists.

Purple, which represents spirituality, is used in several parts of the world to symbolize death and grief. In Guatemala, for example, men and boys don purple robes and hoods on Good Friday to signify grief and to remember the agony and pain of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.

In Brazil, devout Catholics wear both black and purple to symbolize mourning the death of a loved one. If someone is not attending a funeral and they’re wearing purple in this country, they are seen as being disrespecting and bringing bad luck onto themselves.

Purple marks intimate sorrow in Thailand. It is reserved for only widows and widowers who are mourning the death of their spouses. Everyone else wears black.

For information about cremations in Crawfordville, FL, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lifesong Funerals & Cremations is here to assist you. You can visit our funeral home at 20 S. Duval St., Quincy, FL 32351, or you can call us today at (850) 627-1111.

When people are considering cremation and Quincy cremation services, they often have a lot of questions about what is involved, from start to finish, in the cremation process. This is because until the last few decades, most American funerals included burials. Cremations were rare, so we didn’t – and still don’t, for many people – know much about it.

Cremation has been around for a long time and many ancient and not-so-ancient civilizations cremated their dead instead of burying them. As available land for cemeteries has decreased in small or island countries around the world, cremations have become, out of necessity, the primary method of disposing of remains.

There are two types of cremations: direct and indirect. With a direct cremation, the body of the deceased goes directly from the place of death to a crematorium. With an indirect cremation, the body of the deceased goes to the first home first.

With direct cremations, a memorial service may or may not be held at any point in time after the cremation. With indirect cremations, a viewing and funeral service are held before the cremation.

One of the misconceptions about cremations is that people can’t have a viewing or funeral service, but that is not true. The deceased is laid out in either the casket that will be used for cremation or in a casket that is rented just for the viewing and funeral service from the funeral home. Traditional funeral services with readings, music, and eulogies are held, and then the body of the deceased is transported to the crematorium.

At every step of the cremation process, respect and care for the deceased is the highest priority.

Cremation must be done in fully-combustible containers that have no metal parts. Cremation caskets are specifically built to meet this requirement, but any large container that is fully-combustible can be used.

All metal must be extracted from the body before cremation occurs. This means that jewelry, watches, glasses, hearing aids, pacemakers, and artificial joint replacement much be taken out. All of these can be donated through the funeral home to be refurbished and used for people who don’t have the financial resources to obtain these by themselves. It’s a good way to give to others in need.

Before the deceased person is cremated, the body is identified. This can be done through a current photo or by a family member at the crematorium (family members are allow to witness the cremation, if they desire). A tag that will remain with the decease throughout the cremation process is affixed.

The body (only one at a time and properly-tagged and identified) is then put into the cremation chamber. Once the body has been cremated (open flames, intense heat, and evaporation for two to three hours), all that remains are bone fragments. Once these cool, they are pulverized and returned to the family in either a temporary container or the urn that the family purchased to hold the remains (which are called cremains). These can weigh as little as three pounds and as much as nine pounds.

There are many safeguards in place to make sure that the cremation process is done with dignity and is done accurately.

For additional information about Quincy cremation services, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lifesong Funerals & Cremations is here to assist you. You can visit our funeral home at 20 S. Duval St., Quincy, FL 32351, or you can call us today at (850) 627-1111.