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.

Falling Blood Pressure in Hospice: What a Low Diastolic Reading Can Mean

Falling Blood Pressure in Hospice: What a Low Diastolic Reading Can Mean

For many families, hospice care begins during a time already filled with uncertainty. As loved ones grow weaker, caregivers often find themselves paying closer attention to vital signs, especially blood...

Sleeping More vs Coma in Hospice: How Responsiveness Changes Near the End of Life

Sleeping More vs Coma in Hospice: How Responsiveness Changes Near the End of Life

In hospice, one of the most unsettling shifts for families often isn’t a new symptom on a chart—it’s the quiet. A person who used to open their eyes when you...

Managing Dry Mouth (Xerostomia) in Hospice: Oral Care When Swallowing Is Difficult

Managing Dry Mouth (Xerostomia) in Hospice: Oral Care When Swallowing Is Difficult

In hospice, the hardest challenges are often the quiet ones. A loved one may wake with lips stuck together, a tongue that looks dry and coated, and a voice that...

Terminal Dehydration at End of Life: Ketosis, Comfort, and What to Expect

Terminal Dehydration at End of Life: Ketosis, Comfort, and What to Expect

In many families, the last chapter begins quietly. Someone who once asked for tea or took sips of water without thinking starts turning away from the cup. A spoonful of...

Glassy Eyes Near Death: Why the ‘Fixed Stare’ Happens and How to Provide Comfort

Glassy Eyes Near Death: Why the ‘Fixed Stare’ Happens and How to Provide Comfort

The first time you notice it, it can feel like the room tilts. A loved one’s eyes look shiny and unfocused—half-open, glassy, or fixed on a point that doesn’t seem...

Facial Relaxation Near Death: Understanding the “Mask of Death” (Hypotonia)

Facial Relaxation Near Death: Understanding the “Mask of Death” (Hypotonia)

When someone you love is nearing the end of life, even small physical changes can feel alarming. Families often notice that the face looks different—more relaxed, less expressive, or unfamiliar....

Cheyne-Stokes Breathing: Why Breaths Pause and What Families Can Expect

Cheyne-Stokes Breathing: Why Breaths Pause and What Families Can Expect

There are moments at the bedside when time seems to behave differently. The room is quiet, and then you notice the sound of breathing change: a stretch of faster, deeper...

Mottled Skin Near Death: What It Looks Like, Why It Happens, What to Do

Mottled Skin Near Death: What It Looks Like, Why It Happens, What to Do

When you’re sitting with someone you love and their body begins to change, it can feel unnerving—especially when the change shows up in their skin. Families often notice a blotchy...

Last 48 Hours of Life: Common Physical Changes and Comfort Tips

Last 48 Hours of Life: Common Physical Changes and Comfort Tips

In the last days of life, time can feel strangely elastic. Minutes stretch. Hours blur. You may find yourself watching a loved one’s chest rise and fall, wondering what each...

Blue Nail Beds (Cyanosis): Identifying Nail Discoloration and When to Get Help

Blue Nail Beds (Cyanosis): Identifying Nail Discoloration and When to Get Help

Noticing blue or purple color changes in a loved one’s fingernails can be unsettling, especially when you are already worried about their health or nearing the end of life. Blue...

POLST Explained: Why It’s a Medical Order, Not Just a Preference

POLST Explained: Why It’s a Medical Order, Not Just a Preference

Families often describe POLST as “the form that tells everyone what we want.” That’s close, but it’s not specific enough to be useful. The reason POLST matters is not that...

Advance Care Planning 101: What It Is and Why It Reduces Family Conflict

Advance Care Planning 101: What It Is and Why It Reduces Family Conflict

Families don’t fight about end-of-life care because they don’t love each other. Most of the time, they fight because everyone is scared, everyone is interpreting the same person’s wishes differently,...

Hospice for Heart Failure and COPD: Planning for Breathlessness and Anxiety

Hospice for Heart Failure and COPD: Planning for Breathlessness and Anxiety

Heart failure and COPD often create a specific kind of fear at the end of life: the fear of not being able to breathe. Families can manage a lot—fatigue, weakness,...

Hospice for Cancer at Home: Common Symptom Concerns and Planning Tips

Hospice for Cancer at Home: Common Symptom Concerns and Planning Tips

When cancer reaches a stage where cure is no longer realistic—or no longer worth the burden—many families choose home hospice because the goal changes. The goal becomes comfort. Not “doing...

Hospice for Dementia: What Changes, What Helps, and What to Expect Over Time

Hospice for Dementia: What Changes, What Helps, and What to Expect Over Time

Families living with dementia often describe the experience as a long goodbye. The person is still here, and yet the familiar parts of them change in slow, uneven ways. Because...

When Someone Refuses Hospice: How Families Respond Without Fighting

When Someone Refuses Hospice: How Families Respond Without Fighting

When a loved one refuses hospice, the refusal often lands like a second diagnosis in the room. You may feel scared, frustrated, and helpless all at once. You may hear...