Help families memorialize in the new year

Blake Swinford,
Project Manager

How often do you speak with families that have scattered a loved one in the past, and now regret it? As memorialization experts, when talking with families, we need to be sure we are educating them on the importance of having a permanent place of memorialization. It not only creates a special place to visit and share stories for future generations, but it also keeps a family’s loved one's legacy alive.

As many do, I use this time to reflect on the past and plan for the year ahead. I encourage you to take advantage of this time of year to educate families you've already served, and families you hope to serve in the future. You can take it from someone who knows the real heartache of scattering and regretting it later. I scattered my mom’s cremated remains many years ago and didn’t think twice about it. It was what she wanted. Then, I had a family of my own and didn’t have a place to bring my kids to tell "grammy stories."

As we reflect on the past and plan for the year ahead, we are presented with the perfect time to fix things we regret from our past. Whether the families you serve want a bronze memorial, memorial rock or bench, creating a permanent place of memorialization is the most important part. I had a beautiful memorial bench and decorated with a bronze memorial. It sits just outside our memorial park’s Swan Pond. Now, my boys will always have a place to visit their grandma.

If you would like to hear the whole story after scattering my mom and years later creating a place of memorialization, visit us on YouTube.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.