The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

Should Children Be Present for Pet Euthanasia? Age-Appropriate Options and How to Prepare

Should Children Be Present for Pet Euthanasia? Age-Appropriate Options and How to Prepare

Most families don’t imagine they’ll ever have to weigh this question: should a child be present when a beloved pet is euthanized? And yet, it arrives in real life the...

Signs Your Cat Is in Pain: Why Cats Hide It (and the Quiet Behaviors That Give It Away)

Signs Your Cat Is in Pain: Why Cats Hide It (and the Quiet Behaviors That Give It Away)

A cat can live beside you for years and still keep secrets. They can be playful in the morning and withdrawn by afternoon, and it’s easy to chalk it up...

Decorating a Cardboard Cremation Container: Safe Paints, Meaningful Art, and What to Avoid

Decorating a Cardboard Cremation Container: Safe Paints, Meaningful Art, and What to Avoid

Most families don’t expect the cremation container to become part of the story. It’s often described in plain, practical terms—an “alternative container,” sometimes a simple cardboard box—something you choose quickly...

Companion Urns: Two-Person Urns, Shared Memorials, and How Capacity Actually Works

Companion Urns: Two-Person Urns, Shared Memorials, and How Capacity Actually Works

Most families don’t begin by searching for a “companion urn.” They begin with a simpler, heavier sentence: we want to stay together. For spouses, partners, or two people whose lives...

Winter Home Burial: Planning for Frozen Ground, Equipment, and Safe Alternatives

Winter Home Burial: Planning for Frozen Ground, Equipment, and Safe Alternatives

When a death happens in winter, grief arrives alongside a second reality: the ground may not be ready to receive anyone. Families who hope for a home burial often imagine...

Vanitas Still Life: Why Rotting Fruit, Wilting Flowers, and Skulls Show Up in ‘Death Art’

Vanitas Still Life: Why Rotting Fruit, Wilting Flowers, and Skulls Show Up in ‘Death Art’

There’s a particular kind of quiet you feel when you stand in front of a vanitas still life. The room may be full of people, but your attention narrows to...

Transport Permits After a Death: When You Can Move the Body Yourself (and When You Can’t)

Transport Permits After a Death: When You Can Move the Body Yourself (and When You Can’t)

The hours after a death can feel unreal: the quiet in the room, the small decisions that suddenly carry enormous weight, the sense that time has both stopped and started...

Doorway Width for Body Removal: Clearance, Turns, and Stairs for Home Death Care

Doorway Width for Body Removal: Clearance, Turns, and Stairs for Home Death Care

When someone dies at home, the first hours can feel both intimate and unreal. There may be a hush in the house that’s unlike any other quiet you’ve known—gentle, heavy,...

Digging a Grave at Home: Safety, Shoring Basics, and Typical Dimensions to Discuss With a Pro

Digging a Grave at Home: Safety, Shoring Basics, and Typical Dimensions to Discuss With a Pro

When a family asks whether they can bury someone at home, they’re usually not chasing a trend. They’re trying to honor a life in a place that mattered—on land held...

Sewing a Burial Shroud: Simple Patterns, Fabric Yardage, and Handling Tips

Sewing a Burial Shroud: Simple Patterns, Fabric Yardage, and Handling Tips

Most families don’t set out to learn how to sew a burial shroud. It usually begins the way so many end-of-life decisions begin: with love, a little urgency, and a...

The Carrying Board: A Safer Way to Move a Body at Home (Design, Materials, and Use)

The Carrying Board: A Safer Way to Move a Body at Home (Design, Materials, and Use)

Right after a death, the world often narrows to the next small step. A phone call. A glass of water. A quiet decision about where everyone will sit. And sometimes,...

Cremation Cost in Alaska (2026): Price Breakdown & FAQs

Cremation Cost in Alaska (2026): Price Breakdown & FAQs

If you are reading this after a death (or while trying to prepare for one), you may have already discovered something frustrating: pricing can feel unclear at exactly the moment...

Casket Kits: What to Look For in Pre‑Cut DIY Options (Fit, Fasteners, and Compliance)

Casket Kits: What to Look For in Pre‑Cut DIY Options (Fit, Fasteners, and Compliance)

There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles in when you’re responsible for arrangements. Even if your family has talked about wishes for years, the moment you need to make...

Cremation Cost in Delaware (2026): Price Breakdown & FAQs

Cremation Cost in Delaware (2026): Price Breakdown & FAQs

When a death happens—or when you are quietly planning ahead—cost questions can feel both practical and painfully personal. Many Delaware families start with the same simple search: how much does...

Cremation Cost in District of Columbia (2026): Price Breakdown & FAQs

Cremation Cost in District of Columbia (2026): Price Breakdown & FAQs

The first time many families search cremation cost District of Columbia 2026, they are not looking for a sales pitch. They are looking for steadiness. A single number to hold...

Cremation Cost in Florida (2026): Price Breakdown & FAQs

Cremation Cost in Florida (2026): Price Breakdown & FAQs

There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles in after a loss. In Florida, it often arrives in the same place for many families: at a kitchen table, on a...