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.

What Is the Most Appreciated Sympathy Gift?

What Is the Most Appreciated Sympathy Gift?

When someone you care about is grieving, the question isn’t just what to give—it’s how to show up in a way that feels sincere, comforting, and lasting. The most appreciated...

When a Loved One Dies from Overdose: Grief, Stigma, and Honoring Both Struggles and Strengths

When a Loved One Dies from Overdose: Grief, Stigma, and Honoring Both Struggles and Strengths

Some losses arrive with a single, shattering phone call, and there are losses that carry the weight of years. When someone dies from an overdose, many families recognize both at...

How to Bury a Dog at Home: Legal Checks, Safe Depth, and Gentle Goodbye Rituals

How to Bury a Dog at Home: Legal Checks, Safe Depth, and Gentle Goodbye Rituals

Losing a dog can feel like losing a piece of the household’s heartbeat. One moment there’s a familiar weight at your feet, a collar clinking at the door, a nose...

Planning a Shared Memorial with Multiple Pets: Group Graves, Urns, and Markers

Planning a Shared Memorial with Multiple Pets: Group Graves, Urns, and Markers

If you’ve loved more than one pet, you already know this quiet truth: grief doesn’t replace itself. It layers. A dog who grew up with your kids. A cat who...

Pet Wakes and Viewings: Should You See Your Pet One Last Time Before Cremation?

Pet Wakes and Viewings: Should You See Your Pet One Last Time Before Cremation?

The moment you realize you may never see your pet again is rarely a single moment. It’s a series of small shocks: the leash still hanging by the door, the...

Headstone Wording for Dad: Examples Ranging from Traditional to Personal and Lighthearted

Headstone Wording for Dad: Examples Ranging from Traditional to Personal and Lighthearted

There’s a particular kind of silence that shows up when a family starts choosing a headstone inscription for a father. You can talk about stone color, shape, and layout with...

What Really Happens During Embalming? A Plain-Language Walkthrough for Families

What Really Happens During Embalming? A Plain-Language Walkthrough for Families

If you’re planning a funeral while you’re exhausted, grieving, and trying to make a dozen decisions at once, the word “embalming” can land like a thunderclap. People imagine something frightening,...

Funeral, Wake, and Visitation: What Each One Means and How to Choose What Fits Your Family

Funeral, Wake, and Visitation: What Each One Means and How to Choose What Fits Your Family

In the first days after a death, language can feel like one more thing you’re expected to “get right” while you’re barely sleeping. Someone says “we’ll have a wake,” another...

Bereavement Leave and Workplace Policies: What You Can Ask For and How to Advocate for More Support

Bereavement Leave and Workplace Policies: What You Can Ask For and How to Advocate for More Support

The first work message after a death can feel impossible to write. You may be in shock, making family calls, and suddenly responsible for logistics that don’t wait—travel, paperwork, services....

Is It Possible for Pets to Return as Spirits? How Different Traditions View Ghost Stories and Hauntings

Is It Possible for Pets to Return as Spirits? How Different Traditions View Ghost Stories and Hauntings

In the first quiet days after a pet dies, the house can feel strangely loud. The empty food bowl. The missing click of nails on the hallway floor. The space...

Wake Etiquette 101: What to Wear, What to Say, and How Long to Stay

Wake Etiquette 101: What to Wear, What to Say, and How Long to Stay

Walking into a wake can feel strangely intimidating, even when your intentions are completely good. You might be thinking about the door you’re about to open, the family you care...

How Pet Wakes and Human Wakes Are Similar—and Different

How Pet Wakes and Human Wakes Are Similar—and Different

When someone we love dies, our brains do two things at once: they grieve, and they reach for structure. A wake—whether it’s called a visitation, a gathering, a remembrance, or...

Memorials for Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death: Gentle Ideas for Honoring Very Short Lives

Memorials for Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death: Gentle Ideas for Honoring Very Short Lives

Some losses arrive with a public script. Other losses happen quietly—sometimes before anyone else knew you were pregnant, sometimes after you had already made space in your mind and home...

Bringing a Living Pet to a Funeral or Cemetery: Etiquette, Pros and Cons, and Safety Tips

Bringing a Living Pet to a Funeral or Cemetery: Etiquette, Pros and Cons, and Safety Tips

There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles around a funeral home chapel or a cemetery lane. It’s not just the absence of noise—it’s the feeling that everyone is carrying...

Online Support for Pet Loss: Forums, Groups, and How to Find a Safe, Caring Space

Online Support for Pet Loss: Forums, Groups, and How to Find a Safe, Caring Space

In the first days after a pet dies, the world can feel strangely loud and strangely quiet at the same time. Loud because life keeps moving—notifications, errands, people talking about...

When a Pet Dies Suddenly: Shock, Trauma, and How to Begin Healing

When a Pet Dies Suddenly: Shock, Trauma, and How to Begin Healing

There are losses we can imagine, and then there are the ones that split a day in two: before and after. When a pet dies suddenly—an accident at the curb,...