Funeral homes in Clarksburg, MD, can offer you a space to not only pre-plan for events but create ones that are authentic for your loved ones. The memorial services can be a way to help develop a sense of healing and connection and offer an opportunity to celebrate the individual’s memory. And although it may be challenging to pick the details if they don’t have a plan in place, we have included some helpful suggestions to get you started.

Have an Open Mic

One of the strongest reminders of a loved one’s legacy is through the sharing of stories about them. An open mic at the memorial service allows friends and family members to offer their experiences with the person and highlight how the individual positively affected their lives.

Create a Painting

One way to make a memorable impression for attendees is to have a piece of artwork created about the loved one. Paintings, photo displays, and other decorative items that commemorate the individual’s life can be genuinely touching and meaningful additions to the event.

Display Their Hobbies

Most individuals have hobbies they enjoy regularly, and if your loved one had collections, this could be a unique option to include. Whether they were a scrap booker, photographer, or collect stamps, these can all be a way to highlight something that they truly enjoyed and were passionate about.

Add a Theme

Themes are another way to showcase the individual’s life. Consider things they enjoyed, and whether it was chocolate chip cookies or a specific shade of blue, these can be added to the memorial to remember them.

Do a Release

Releases are another standard option, and they can be an experience that can signify sending off the loved one at the event. Butterflies, doves, and even paper lanterns can all be exceptional options for adding a sense of beauty to the service.

Have Everyone Contribute to a Capsule

One popular option is to create a capsule full of memories about the individual. This could be a box or container that attendees can contribute to by adding items that they feel represent the loved one’s legacy. It can be a comforting option to look through and remember the individual on special days like birthdays or memories.

Write Messages on the Vessel

The last recommendation is to provide sharpie markers and have the attendees write messages to the individual on the casket or coffin. This can be an excellent way for individuals to process their grief and express pain around the loss of the person.

We are Here as a Trusted Source of Care

Creating an exceptional service is easier if you consider ways to incorporate interests or specific things about the loved one’s life. It can help give a sense of closure and healing to those in attendance, and if you need additional help, you can always reach out to loved ones for ideas.

When it’s time to plan the event with one of the funeral homes in Clarksburg, MD, having a professional on your side is crucial for funeral etiquette, and we would love to help you from start to finish, so contact us today or check our community outreach.

Having an At Sea Burial is a Unique Way to Send Off Your Loved One, so here’s More on Them

It is not uncommon for individuals to choose a traditional burial with one of the funeral homes in Silver Spring, MD. But for others, it may feel more authentic to have a burial at sea instead. These events have been taking place for thousands of years, and we have gathered some facts about them to help you understand some considerations about them.

What Regulations Are in Place?

At-sea burials can either be done through full body disposal or cremation, and the EPA has a set of rules and regulations that need to be followed to complete these ceremonies, including:

• The disposal needs to take place at least three nautical miles from land
• Depending on the location, the water will need to be between 600 and 1800 feet in depth
• Any items that are placed in the water with the body need to be row degradable
• If a casket is going to be used, it needs to have holes drilled in it to assure that it sinks
• Weights and chains can be added to the casket to ensure it stays on the bottom of the ocean floor
• The EPA needs to be notified at least 30 days in advance of the event

Navy Process

This option is available for anyone who served in the military, and the event will be held on I shipped it is on deployment. This means that the family is not going to be able to attend the event, but a commanding officer will send a notification to them, letting them know the location, time, and date of the ceremony. This is a free option; if the individual has any specific religious preferences, these would also be honored at the event.

Civilian

If the individual is a civilian, the family must charter a ship with a company specializing in these events. A funeral director will also need to be present for the disposal, and different sizes of vessels are available depending on the event’s needs.

Cremation Options

Scattering the ashes is also a common practice, and, in most cases, most professional companies will offer this service as well. There are some guidelines for this type of event as well, so it can be helpful to check with local agencies before scheduling. In addition, biodegradable urns are available as an alternative to scattering the ashes into the waves.

When You Need a Trusted Name at Your Side

While the most common choice for most individuals is to scatter the ashes, full body disposal is also an excellent option for anyone who loves the water. Working with a professional team at one of the funeral homes in Silver Spring, MD, can make a difference in the process, and we work hard to help make the event as streamlined as possible. Our team of experts takes great pride in offering exceptional services, so contact us today and have a talk of a lifetime.

If You or Someone You Know is Grieving, Finding the Right Support is Crucial, so here are Some Options

Funeral homes in Columbia, MD, can be an excellent source for creating unique and authentic services after a loved one passes away. There may be some situations where they have grief counseling available, but in most cases, the individual will need to seek out their resources to navigate these feelings. Understanding the different options available is crucial, so we have created a list of helpful resources that can help work through the emotions of grief.

Support Groups

One of the first great resources to utilize is to find a support group. This could be an online or in-person experience; for some people, it can be what they need because, in most cases, the space will be free of any kind of judgment. Grief support groups also don’t traditionally have therapy in them, and most individuals have either gone through grief or are currently experiencing it, which can create a sense of connection and understanding.

Friends and Family

Another helpful area is to utilize or reach out to loved ones. This could be friends or family members; it can be a great resource because the individuals might also be going through the process of grief. Finding time to connect with them may not only be helping you, but it could also help them to talk about their emotions and create a sense of care for everyone involved.

Professional Services

For some individuals, choosing a professional service might be better when expressing feelings about the loss. Hiring an outside individual can be highly beneficial because they are not emotionally attached to the individual who’s passed away. This means you will get a more objective point of view on the experience which can offer new ways to look at the situation and teach helpful coping skills.

Volunteer Organizations

There are a large number of volunteer organizations that offer grief support, and these can be found online. They range from specialized services to traditional loss of loved ones, so consider researching these to find the right option.

Self-Care Tips

The last recommendation for support is to consider self-care. Grief can be a challenging experience to go through, so taking the time to do things that are considered pleasurable or enjoyable can be highly beneficial. Getting body work done like massages or investing in mindfulness or meditation classes can also help process emotions.

If You Need Exceptional Care, we are a Trusted Name

The experience of grief is going to be different for each person, so remembering to be patient with the process is crucial. Getting the proper support for all the effects of the loss is critical, and if you’re looking at professional funeral homes in Columbia, MD, to schedule the services, we would love to help you through the process. Our company is locally owned and has been operating since the early 1900s with a focus on providing honest and compassionate services, so contact us today if you have any questions.

Burying a Loved One Can Happen Any Time of the Year, so here are Some Considerations for Colder Months

Funeral homes in Clarksburg, MD, are local experts when it’s time to lay a loved one to rest In a meaningful way. And if the individual passes away in the wintertime and you live in a colder climate, you might be concerned about whether you can have a traditional burial. So, we have created this article to help give you some insight into the process and how it is completed in colder months.

Can You Bury a Loved One in the Winter?

Due to advanced technology, burying people in the wintertime is possible, but this wasn’t always the case. In most situations, individuals only had a shovel, and the family would have to wait until spring to complete the process. The deceased were placed into a receiving vault designed to hold bodies for extended periods.

Fortunately, now families don’t have to wait to bury their loved ones until the weather gets warmer due to machinery and alternative burial options. But depending on the environment, If the weather is too erratic, it can potentially delay the experience for a short period.

What is Used to Help this Process?

Wintertime burials or common practice now, and almost all mortuaries and funeral homes have equipment that can make it possible to refrigerate the deceased for extended periods. If the family wants to wait until springtime to have the service, the body can be placed in a mausoleum as a temporary holding space.

Four specific pieces of equipment are used for burials in cold months, including:

Thawer

This option is one of the more recent inventions; it is used to heat the ground with a torch to make it softer to dig in.

Backhoe

The backhoe will technically be attached to a digging crane; they can break through the frozen ground much more quickly than other methods.

Jackhammer

The jackhammer is the most common option, and it’s used to break through the upper layers of the frost. However, it can take longer to dig the grave, but it can be more affordable and effective than other solutions.

Heater

Heaters are used to melt the frozen ground, and either be electric or charcoal run.

Are there Graveside Burials During Winter?

In most cases, a family can’t choose to have the graveside services even in the winter, but the weather will affect this. Some cemeteries can make accommodations for this situation; they may have plowing services available to create safer access to the plot site. And in some cases, the families may choose to have an alternative service and hold the event at a different location.

We Offer Exceptional Care and Services

As you can see, if your loved one does pass away in the wintertime, it is possible to have a traditional burial, and the weather will be contingent on the surfaces. And if you’re looking at funeral homes in Clarksburg, MD, we have you covered with compassionate care. We have been in business since the early 1900s and have provided services for our community based on care and commitment to quality, so contact us today when planning in making arrangements.

Delivering and Creating a Eulogy Is Simpler with these Great Tips

The eulogy is a document commonly read at the services performed with one of the funeral homes in Silver Spring, MD, and can offer a sense of connection and healing for those suffering the loss. This speech is integral to reflect on aspects of the person’s life, so we have created this helpful guide to get you started in developing and delivering a thoughtful and memorable eulogy.

What Should You Add to It?

Traditionally, the eulogy is intended to highlight an individual’s life and what they offer to the world around them. The idea is to highlight specific parts of their personality and who they were when they were living positively. A few pieces of information you can add to the eulogy are:

• If they had any special activities or interests
• What they did for a living
• If they had any accomplishments in education or work
• Any special or unique relationships they had with friends or family
• Stories or memories that you shared with them

Edit and Review

Once you’ve completed the document, it’s essential to review it because this ensures that you have fixed any errors with grammar or spelling. It also can allow you to add additional information that you feel is important. You might also consider speaking with friends or family members who knew the individual to see if they have anything they would like to add to make it a more memorable document.

Practice the Speech

Taking the time to practice reading it can help you understand the tone of your speech and the appropriate volume needed for your voice. It also allows you to review document sections that may be more emotionally challenging to read through when you’re in front of an audience.

Use Note Cards

Note cards can be a highly recommended addition for delivering the speech. They not only help support you if you find yourself sidetracked by emotions, but they also can help highlight important parts of the document that you want to cover.

Accept What Comes

The last consideration is to understand that loss is challenging for almost everyone. This can be important to recognize while reading in front of the audience because you may have different emotions. Remembering that the individuals at the event our friends and family members and that they are there to remember the loved one, offer support, and not judge can also be helpful.

A Trusted Source for Compassionate Care

Finding ways to create a thoughtful and memorable eulogy can help create a more positive and enhanced experience for anyone at the event. And if you are looking for professional and expert support from one of the funeral homes in Silver Spring, MD, let us help you through the process. We are locally owned and have been providing exceptional services with compassionate care for over four generations for our community have the talk of a lifetime now. We understand what it takes to create a truly meaningful event, so contact us today if you have any questions or need to schedule an appointment.

Writing the Obituary is Crucial, so here are Some Great Tips to Get you Started

Funeral homes in Columbia, MD, offer essential services to honor an individual after they have passed away. It’s important to let others know about the loss, so writing an obituary might be required, and if you’ve never had to write one before, it can be confusing to create a meaningful one. You can follow several steps and we have them listed here in this article, so keep reading for more information.

What Goes in the Obituary?

Traditionally, an obituary will have basic facts about an individual’s life. This will include information about where they were born and their date of birth, and some people choose to add information to make it more personalized. Its primary purpose is to notify the public about the loss and information about the funeral services but making it more personalized can be helpful.

Gather Facts

One of the first steps is to gather all the facts about the individual you want to include in the document. Keep in mind that you don’t know who will be reading the content, so keeping it more straightforward might feel like the appropriate choice. You can also reach out to friends or family members because they may have additional information that they think is important to include in the document and can help it feel more meaningful.

Tell the Person’s Story

Your main priority is to talk about the individual’s life, and a traditional obituary will start from birth and progress until they have passed away chronologically. It’s not uncommon to add in other information like accomplishments or things they were involved in and their passions. You can also talk about who the individual was and what made them unique, and you may want to add any more specific information, like if they had any traditions they followed or how they wanted to be remembered.

Remember, there is No Perfect Way to Complete it

The last thing to remember when you are writing an obituary is that there is no specific way to write one. There’s no perfection in any individual’s life, and everyone has different experiences. It can also be difficult to summarize an individual’s life in a short document, so you only want to include essential or pertinent things for others to know.

In addition, you also want to keep in mind that if you have a public or private service, mention this in the obituary. And if the individual had any causes or a place where contributions can be made, you can also include this in the obituary for people to donate.

Your Local Source for Compassionate Care

Writing the obituary is one part of the process, and if you need support and are looking at funeral homes in Columbia, MD, we would love to help you. We are a locally owned company that has been providing professional care for our community for over four generations, so contact us today if you have any questions or any to schedule an appointment for any of our services.