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.

Best Funeral Poems and How They Fit with Cremation Urns, Ashes, and Everyday Grief

Best Funeral Poems and How They Fit with Cremation Urns, Ashes, and Everyday Grief

When someone dies, the questions come in layers. There are the practical ones about paperwork, phone calls, and funeral planning. There are the financial ones, like how much does cremation...

What to Do When a Loved One Dies: Practical Steps, Cremation Urns, and Memorial Options

What to Do When a Loved One Dies: Practical Steps, Cremation Urns, and Memorial Options

When someone you love dies, the world can feel both strangely quiet and unbearably loud at the same time. The first hours and days are often overwhelming, filled with a...

When Family Disagrees About What to Do with Ashes: Compromise, Legal Rights, and Creative Solutions

When Family Disagrees About What to Do with Ashes: Compromise, Legal Rights, and Creative Solutions

It’s one of those conflicts that often surprises families. You’ve done the hard part: made the arrangements, gotten through the service, received the cremated remains. And then a quiet but...

Planning a Funeral on a Budget: Honoring a Life Without Overspending

Planning a Funeral on a Budget: Honoring a Life Without Overspending

For most families, funeral planning doesn’t start with numbers; it starts with shock, love, and a deep urge to “do right” by the person or pet they’ve lost. Then, very...

Blended Families and Step-Relationships: Navigating Grief, Roles, and Funeral Decisions

Blended Families and Step-Relationships: Navigating Grief, Roles, and Funeral Decisions

Grief within blended families and step-relationships brings unique challenges that go beyond the usual complexities of mourning. These families often include multiple layers of connection, stepchildren who may feel both...

Living Alone After the Death of a Spouse: Safety, Routine, and Rebuilding Daily Life

Living Alone After the Death of a Spouse: Safety, Routine, and Rebuilding Daily Life

Adjusting to life after the loss of a partner can be one of the most challenging transitions a person faces. The quiet of an empty home, once filled with shared...

Pets at Funerals and Memorials: When It Works, When It Doesn’t, and How to Prepare

Pets at Funerals and Memorials: When It Works, When It Doesn’t, and How to Prepare

Bringing a pet to a funeral or memorial can be a profoundly moving and comforting experience, offering a sense of companionship and emotional support during a time of grief. For...

How to Support a Grieving Friend: What Helps, What Hurts, and Small Gestures That Matter

How to Support a Grieving Friend: What Helps, What Hurts, and Small Gestures That Matter

Supporting someone you love through grief is one of the most tender acts of friendship. When a friend loses someone dear, the world feels different for them, quieter, heavier, and...

Pet Urn Types and Materials: Choosing the Right Urn for Your Dog or Cat

Pet Urn Types and Materials: Choosing the Right Urn for Your Dog or Cat

The bond between a pet and their family is unlike any other, a silent companionship, a source of joy, and a constant presence in everyday life. When it comes time...

Cremation Jewelry Care Guide: Cleaning, Wearing, and Keeping Ashes Secure

Cremation Jewelry Care Guide: Cleaning, Wearing, and Keeping Ashes Secure

Caring for cremation jewelry is about more than preserving a beautiful keepsake; it’s a daily way to feel connected to the memory of a loved one. Each necklace, bracelet, or...

Grief Support Groups and Counseling: Finding Help That Matches Your Needs

Grief Support Groups and Counseling: Finding Help That Matches Your Needs

Grief changes your world in ways you never expected. It shapes your thoughts, alters routines, and influences how you move through each day. During this time, finding the right support...

Should Children Attend Funerals? Age-by-Age Guidance and How to Prepare Them

Should Children Attend Funerals? Age-by-Age Guidance and How to Prepare Them

Deciding whether children should attend funerals is one of the most sensitive choices a family can face. Parents often feel a mix of emotions, grief, uncertainty, and the desire to...

Digital Legacy Planning: Passwords, Social Media Accounts, and Online Memories

Digital Legacy Planning: Passwords, Social Media Accounts, and Online Memories

Most of us now live a significant part of our lives online. We scroll through social media, upload photos, pay bills through apps, store important documents in the cloud, and...

Final Letters and Ethical Wills: Passing on Values, Stories, and Messages of Love

Final Letters and Ethical Wills: Passing on Values, Stories, and Messages of Love

Most people know they should have a legal will to say who receives their money and property someday. Far fewer have heard of an ethical will or taken time to...

Memorial Day Cemetery Decorations: Creative Tips for Honoring Loved Ones

Memorial Day Cemetery Decorations: Creative Tips for Honoring Loved Ones

Memorial Day can bring a quiet ache long before you reach the cemetery gates. You might find yourself wondering what to bring, how much to decorate, or whether your choices...

Traveling with Cremated Remains: TSA Rules, Airline Policies, and Practical Tips

Traveling with Cremated Remains: TSA Rules, Airline Policies, and Practical Tips

Families often travel with a loved one’s ashes for deeply personal reasons, fulfilling a final wish to return home, scattering the remains in a place filled with meaning, or bringing...