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.

Grieving a Parent vs Grieving a Spouse or Partner: Why Each Loss Can Feel Different

Grieving a Parent vs Grieving a Spouse or Partner: Why Each Loss Can Feel Different

When someone you love dies, the words you reach for often feel too small. If you’ve lost a parent, a spouse, or both, you may notice that your grief changes...

How to Choose a Funeral Home

How to Choose a Funeral Home

When someone dies, the first hours can feel unreal. You may be trying to call relatives, looking for a favorite photo, or simply staring at a wall, unsure what to...

Best Poems for Funerals: How Words, Ashes, and Memory Come Together

Best Poems for Funerals: How Words, Ashes, and Memory Come Together

When someone dies, the practical questions arrive quickly: calling the funeral home, choosing between burial and cremation, wondering how much cremation costs, and deciding what to do with ashes afterward....

Social Security Benefits After a Death

Social Security Benefits After a Death

Losing someone you love is one of life’s most difficult and emotionally draining experiences. Amid grief, funeral planning, and the day-to-day reality of loss, practical details can feel overwhelming—notifying agencies,...

Veteran Funeral Benefits: A Warm, Practical Guide to VA Burial, Cremation, and Honors

Veteran Funeral Benefits: A Warm, Practical Guide to VA Burial, Cremation, and Honors

When a Veteran dies, families often feel two very different currents at once. One is raw grief and pride in their service. The other is a tangle of practical questions:...

Cremation Urns, Pet Urns, and Cremation Jewelry: A Gentle Guide to Keeping Ashes Close

Cremation Urns, Pet Urns, and Cremation Jewelry: A Gentle Guide to Keeping Ashes Close

If you are reading this, you may be somewhere in the middle of funeral planning, trying to make decisions you never imagined having to make. Or you may simply be...

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...