Examples of unique and creative life and funeral celebrations

Have you noticed that the traditional funeral leaves you sad and empty? Read the examples below of unique and unforgettable life celebrations. These go far beyond what you thought a funeral or memorial service should be. If we hadn’t had a funeral and thought that was the norm, we might have been planning and attending fabulous events like the ones you’ll read about. They might inspire you with some ideas to create a lasting tribute to your loved ones that your friends and family will never forget. I wish you the best on your journey to truly personalize and capture the unique and special life that you lived.

Alicia Johnson, a self-proclaimed wine connoisseur, pre-arranged her service to include four separate stations for the wine tasting ceremony set up in her garden at her suburban home. His family and friends walked to each of the four seasons, tasted wine, and experienced the important areas of his life. In the first, they listened to some of their favorite music while enjoying a particular wine that they had invested in and they talked to each other about Alicia, her wine, and her music. In the second station of the ceremony, the funeral director gave each attendee a message card to write words of comfort to the family if they so desired while they enjoyed a different wine and listened to their husband talk about their life together. . In the third station of the ceremony under an outdoor tent, Alicia was seen crying in a video in which she spoke to them from her bed a few weeks before her death. He sent sincere and loving messages to more than ten members of his family and friends.

Jack Killington, was a fifty-two-year-old member of the Mohawks jogging club. To conclude his service, while he was riding in the hearse, members of the Mohawk club who were jogging with tears in their eyes escorted him on the side of the ether for the two miles to the cemetery.

Dave loved animals and had many safari adventures with his wife Margaret. It seemed appropriate to make animals the center of his celebration of life.

Serving Dave:

Funeral attendees were invited to greet the family under an open-air tent outside the zoo gates where coffee and cocktails were served, and an opportunity was provided for informal social exchange among family and friends. They were given a 10-inch square commemorative folder printed with the ceremony agenda and photographs of Dave throughout his life.

At the appointed service time, family and friends boarded one of several waiting zoo trains and began a slow journey to the first “introduction ceremony,” this one in front of the open-air bear pavilion. At this station, several tripods held enlarged photographs of animals that had been taken by Dave. These were displayed alongside a microphone podium.

Once family and friends disembarked from the trains and gathered around the podium, Dave’s wife Margaret started a discussion about her husband and in particular his safari experiences and his devotion and love for animals. In concluding her comments, she invited other people to share memories and memories of her husband. The group then boarded the trains again for the short trip to the next “Ceremony Station”.

At the second stop, in the lion pavilion, several more tripods displayed enlarged articles about Dave, his work and his devotion to animals, and a display table contained Dave’s PETA awards and PETA donation envelopes. Dave’s closest friend, Don Strattermier, began the presentation, talking about his friendship with Dave and Dave’s love of animals. He then featured Christine, who recounted her experience “behind the scenes” of Dave’s work at PETA, sharing several little-known, but admirals, successes and breakthroughs that he had accomplished in the name of animal rights. At the conclusion of their comments, the attendees had another opportunity to make spontaneous comments.

The retinue boarded the trains again and headed to the botanical garden of the zoo. Chairs in front of a large screen allowed family and friends to sit while watching an eight-minute slide show of the deceased’s life; Photographs taken from the family album showed Dave from his childhood to the present, including various safari scenes. The last image was a close-up of Dave’s face. While that photograph remained on the screen, attendees heard four telephone tones, followed by Dave’s voice on his personal home message machine, a message that most of the audience was familiar with: “Hi, this is Dave. I’m on safari, leave me a message and I hope to meet you somewhere along the way one day. ” After the slide show, each person was given a three-by-five card and pen to write a message to Dave and / or Margaret.

After the slideshow, those who cared were given the opportunity to pay their last respects to the deceased, whose typecast body lay in state among the foliage and flowers of the arboretum. As they passed by the coffin, each was greeted by Margaret, who received her cards with messages, hugs, and words of love.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the funeral procession formed in the zoo parking lot for the trip to the cemetery.

The boxed body was hoisted onto Dave’s beloved 75-year-old Tranzago elephant, who began a slow walk to “The Teachers Valley”; a well-kept animal graveyard at the zoo, followed by friends and family on foot. Prior permission had been obtained from the local mayors office for the burial.

Although the family was not religious, the funeral director felt that Dave had lived a spiritual life and suggested that a local Buddhist devotee and friend of Dave and Margaret be asked to draw those parallels between their devotion to animals and their spirituality to make brief comments. for this purpose in the internment service.

The funeral director also suggested that Don Strattermier remain in the grave until the coffin was lowered and the grave was filled. It should be noted that Tranzago refused to leave the burial site until the burial was complete.

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