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.

Keepsakes Made From Ashes: 9 Meaningful Memorial Ideas (Jewelry, Glass, Stones & More)

Keepsakes Made From Ashes: 9 Meaningful Memorial Ideas (Jewelry, Glass, Stones & More)

There’s a moment that comes after the paperwork is signed and the immediate rush quiets down—when the cremation is complete, the phone call is made, and a family brings home...

When Your Cat Passes Away: What to Do Next (Cremation, Ashes, and Memorial Ideas)

When Your Cat Passes Away: What to Do Next (Cremation, Ashes, and Memorial Ideas)

When a cat dies, the house can feel unfamiliar in a matter of minutes. The quiet is different. The routines that shaped your days—meals, medications, the soft weight on your...

How to Light a Memorial Candle: Meaning, Ritual Ideas, and Candle Safety Basics

How to Light a Memorial Candle: Meaning, Ritual Ideas, and Candle Safety Basics

There’s a reason a memorial candle feels different from any other candle in your home. The light is small, but it changes the room. It gives grief something gentle to...

Why Do People Light Candles for the Dead? Symbolism, Traditions, and Modern Memorial Ideas

Why Do People Light Candles for the Dead? Symbolism, Traditions, and Modern Memorial Ideas

There’s a reason candlelight shows up in so many moments of grief, even for people who don’t consider themselves “ritual” people. A candle is small enough to hold in one...

Monuments vs. Memorials: Types, Meanings, and Famous Examples (US + World)

Monuments vs. Memorials: Types, Meanings, and Famous Examples (US + World)

If you’ve ever stood in front of a towering stone obelisk, read names carved into bronze, or wandered a quiet cemetery path where small markers sit flush with the grass,...

Irish Blessings for Funerals: Popular Poems, Wording Ideas, and Personalized Keepsakes

Irish Blessings for Funerals: Popular Poems, Wording Ideas, and Personalized Keepsakes

In the first days after a death, families often learn that logistics move faster than emotions. Calls get made, dates get set, and then—sometimes late at night, sometimes right before...

Iconic Moms and Matriarchs: From Mother Teresa to Celebrity Mothers—Stories, Tributes, and Legacy Ideas

Iconic Moms and Matriarchs: From Mother Teresa to Celebrity Mothers—Stories, Tributes, and Legacy Ideas

When a family loses a mother, grandmother, or “everyone calls her Mom” figure, the grief can feel both intimate and enormous. You are not only missing a person—you are noticing...

Famous Mothers in History and Pop Culture: Iconic Moms, Their Legacies, and Ways to Remember Your Own

Famous Mothers in History and Pop Culture: Iconic Moms, Their Legacies, and Ways to Remember Your Own

There is a reason mother stories stick. Even when you do not share the same background, era, or circumstance, you can still recognize the invisible work: the steady presence, the...

How to Write a Meaningful Eulogy (With a Simple Outline + Examples)

How to Write a Meaningful Eulogy (With a Simple Outline + Examples)

If you’re here because you’ve been asked to speak, you’re not alone in the feeling that comes next. You want to honor a whole life in a few minutes, while...

Tulip Meaning & Color Symbolism: What Different Tulip Colors Represent

Tulip Meaning & Color Symbolism: What Different Tulip Colors Represent

There are moments when flowers feel like the only “right” thing to do—because they don’t ask the grieving person to manage your words. They simply arrive, quiet and present, saying:...

At-Home Memorial Ideas: 40 Meaningful Ways to Honor a Loved One (DIY + Low-Cost)

At-Home Memorial Ideas: 40 Meaningful Ways to Honor a Loved One (DIY + Low-Cost)

When someone dies, the first decisions can feel strangely practical for how personal the moment is. You are grieving, and at the same time you are answering questions about timing,...

Funeral Memorial Cards: What to Include, Design Ideas, Verses & Quotes, and How to Print Them

Funeral Memorial Cards: What to Include, Design Ideas, Verses & Quotes, and How to Print Them

In the middle of planning a service, it can feel surprising how much comfort a small piece of paper can hold. Funeral memorial cards are often the one item guests...

Keepsake Urn vs Full-Size Urn: What’s the Difference (Sizes, Uses, and How to Choose)

Keepsake Urn vs Full-Size Urn: What’s the Difference (Sizes, Uses, and How to Choose)

When you’re holding the phone after “the cremation is complete,” the questions that follow can feel surprisingly practical—almost jarringly so. Where will the ashes rest? Who will want to be...

Memorial Tree Planting Programs: How Living Tributes Work, Costs, and Best Services

Memorial Tree Planting Programs: How Living Tributes Work, Costs, and Best Services

When someone you love dies, the world keeps moving—mail arrives, dishes pile up, the sun still rises. What doesn’t move as easily is the part of you that needs a...

Fingerprint Jewelry Explained: How It’s Made, How to Capture a Print, and What to Look for in Quality

Fingerprint Jewelry Explained: How It’s Made, How to Capture a Print, and What to Look for in Quality

There are moments in grief when you realize you don’t just miss someone—you miss the ordinary closeness. The way they held a mug, smoothed a child’s hair, tapped your shoulder...

Long-Lasting Funeral Flowers for Gravesites: Best Blooms by Season, Meaning, and Durability

Long-Lasting Funeral Flowers for Gravesites: Best Blooms by Season, Meaning, and Durability

A gravesite visit is rarely only about the headstone. It’s about the quiet evidence that someone is remembered—today, not just “back then.” Flowers do that in a way few things...