Alternatives to a Traditional Funeral Service

When people are planning funerals at funeral homes in Ferrum, VA, they may decide that they don’t want a traditional funeral service for them. If your loved one was an upbeat and optimistic person who seldom had a sad moment in their life, you may think that a traditional funeral service will have an environment that is too somber to appropriately reflect who your loved one was.

Perhaps your loved one was very specific about not having a big fuss made over them after they died, and a traditional funeral service would seem like you are going against their explicit wishes.

Maybe you are not ready to make plans for a service for your loved one, and you want to be able to have a private burial, but keep the option open to have a service to honor your loved one’s memory later on.

Your funeral home knows that planning a funeral is a unique process for everyone who comes through their door. They also know that the traditional funeral service may not fit the needs and desires of each person – and their deceased love one – who makes funeral arrangements.

There are several alternatives to a traditional funeral service, and your funeral director can help you plan whichever one you choose to use to pay tribute to your loved one.

If your loved one was someone who wouldn’t have wanted everybody to focus on their death, but to remember the joyousness of their life, then you might consider having a celebration of their life instead. While a celebration of life isn’t necessarily a party, it does change the focus of the service for your loved one from the remembrance of their death to the remembrance of their life.

Typically, celebrations of life focus on the achievements, the accomplishments, and the impacts that the deceased had while they were living. The format of a celebration of life is open, so you can choose to honor your loved one in many different ways and in many different settings.

For example, you can have a format where people share stories and memories of how your loved one affected their lives. You can have a display of various memorial photos and personal items that tells the story of your loved one’s life. You can share a meal together with friends and family, eating your loved one’s favorite foods, and talking about how they made your life better.

If your loved one requested that their funeral service be as low-key as possible, then another alternative to a traditional funeral service would be a graveside service. Graveside services are held at the cemetery where your loved one will be buried. Typically, the service is short and the attendees are those who were closest to your loved one.

If you are not yet ready to plan a funeral service for your loved one yet, then having a memorial service at a later time after your loved one’s burial is an option. A memorial service can be held whenever you are ready, which means that the pressure of having to plan a service in the short time between death and burial isn’t weighing on you in the days after your loved one’s death.

You can take your time to regain your footing from the loss and grief, to take care of the immediate things you need to attend to, so that you can plan a service that is meaningful and rich to honor the memory of your loved one.

For information about funeral services at funeral homes in Ferrum, VA, our compassionate and experienced staff at Conner-Bowman Funeral Home & Crematory is here to help.