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.

How to Mail Cremation Ashes Safely for Jewelry or Other Memorial Services

How to Mail Cremation Ashes Safely for Jewelry or Other Memorial Services

If you are reading this, you may be holding something that feels both precious and overwhelming. Maybe a jeweler has sent you a small kit for a ring or pendant....

Caring for Cremation Jewelry: Cleaning, Storage, and How Long It Can Last

Caring for Cremation Jewelry: Cleaning, Storage, and How Long It Can Last

If you’re reading this, you may be holding two realities at once. One is tender and personal: a piece of cremation jewelry that keeps someone (or a beloved pet) close...

Pet Cremation Jewelry Guide: Necklaces, Charms, and Diamonds—How to Choose and Buy Safely

Pet Cremation Jewelry Guide: Necklaces, Charms, and Diamonds—How to Choose and Buy Safely

When a pet dies, the world can feel strangely ordinary around you. The mail still arrives. The dishes still need washing. And yet everything is different—because the small, constant presence...

When You Find Out About a Death Late: Reaching Out, Apologizing, and Handling Mixed Emotions

When You Find Out About a Death Late: Reaching Out, Apologizing, and Handling Mixed Emotions

There is a particular kind of shock that comes from learning about a death long after it happened. It can arrive in a stray social media post, a forwarded email...

Explaining Cremation and Burial to Children in Gentle, Honest Language

Explaining Cremation and Burial to Children in Gentle, Honest Language

Most adults don’t struggle to love their children through grief. They struggle to find words that are both true and kind. When a child asks what happens to the body,...

Do Cremation Ashes Attract Spirits or “Hold Energy”? Beliefs, Comfort Tips, and Faith-Based Guidance

Do Cremation Ashes Attract Spirits or “Hold Energy”? Beliefs, Comfort Tips, and Faith-Based Guidance

It’s a question people often whisper, sometimes even to themselves: do cremation ashes attract spirits, or do they hold energy in a way that changes the feeling of a home? The...

Which Religions Prefer Cremation? Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh Traditions and What Families Do With Ashes

Which Religions Prefer Cremation? Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh Traditions and What Families Do With Ashes

When a death happens, families often discover that the hardest decisions aren’t only practical. They’re emotional, and sometimes deeply spiritual. Even if your loved one wasn’t especially religious, faith traditions...

When a Death Involves Crime or Legal Investigation: Navigating Media, Courts, and Delays

When a Death Involves Crime or Legal Investigation: Navigating Media, Courts, and Delays

When a death is connected to a crime, suspected foul play, or an active legal investigation, grief rarely arrives on its own. It comes layered with shock, fear, and the...

Cremation and Religion in the U.S.: What Major Faiths Allow and Common Rules for Ashes

Cremation and Religion in the U.S.: What Major Faiths Allow and Common Rules for Ashes

When a death happens, families often discover that the hardest questions aren’t only logistical. They’re spiritual. A relative may say, “Mom wanted cremation,” while another asks, “Is that allowed in...

Cremation Urn Materials Guide: Metal, Wood, Ceramic, Stone, and Biodegradable Options (Plus What Can Be Buried)

Cremation Urn Materials Guide: Metal, Wood, Ceramic, Stone, and Biodegradable Options (Plus What Can Be Buried)

Choosing an urn can feel strangely difficult. Not because you can’t find something beautiful, but because the object you choose is tied to a decision you didn’t want to have...

When Family Doesn’t Claim Ashes: Timelines, Responsibilities, and Next Steps

When Family Doesn’t Claim Ashes: Timelines, Responsibilities, and Next Steps

When someone dies, the days that follow can feel like a blur of phone calls, paperwork, and decisions no one wanted to make. In the middle of that fog, it...

How Big Is a Cremation Urn? Sizes, Cubic Inches, and What Fits in a Columbarium Niche

How Big Is a Cremation Urn? Sizes, Cubic Inches, and What Fits in a Columbarium Niche

If you’re shopping for cremation urns for the first time, it can feel strangely technical at a moment that’s already tender. A listing might say “200 cubic inches,” while your real...

How the Cremation Process Works in the U.S.: Step-by-Step, Crematorium Basics, and Container Options

How the Cremation Process Works in the U.S.: Step-by-Step, Crematorium Basics, and Container Options

When you are grieving, the hardest part is often that everything feels urgent and unfamiliar at the same time. Cremation can be a gentle, practical choice, but families still deserve...

Aquamation for Pets: Cost, Step-by-Step Process & Environmental Considerations

Aquamation for Pets: Cost, Step-by-Step Process & Environmental Considerations

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “I want to do what’s gentlest for them,” you’re not alone. In the same way families have increasingly chosen cremation for humans because it...

Nose Print Jewelry for Dogs & Cats: How It’s Made & How to Capture the Print at Home

Nose Print Jewelry for Dogs & Cats: How It’s Made & How to Capture the Print at Home

Your dog’s nose has probably tapped your hand a thousand times without you noticing the exact pattern it leaves behind. It presses against the window when someone pulls into the...

Pet Cremation for Large Dogs: What’s Different (Timing, Cost, Transport & Urn Size)

Pet Cremation for Large Dogs: What’s Different (Timing, Cost, Transport & Urn Size)

The house feels different when a large-breed dog dies. Not only because their presence filled so much space, but because the practical realities arrive fast: a heavy body you can’t...