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.

Funeral Scams and High-Pressure Tactics: Red Flags to Watch For and How to Push Back

Funeral Scams and High-Pressure Tactics: Red Flags to Watch For and How to Push Back

You’re grieving, and you’re making expensive decisions you’ve probably never had to make before. That combination is exactly why funeral scams and high-pressure funeral sales tactics can work so well,...

Direct Cremation: What’s Included, What’s Not, and How Families Can Personalize Later

Direct Cremation: What’s Included, What’s Not, and How Families Can Personalize Later

For many families, direct cremation feels like the least complicated option at a time when everything already feels complicated. There is no pressure to pick a date for a formal...

What Is the Dog’s Prayer Poem?

What Is the Dog’s Prayer Poem?

The connection between a dog and their human is a profound and irreplaceable bond, one that often defies explanation. It is a relationship built on unwavering loyalty, playful companionship, and...

Grieving a Friend: When Your Loss Feels Overlooked or Hard for Others to Understand

Grieving a Friend: When Your Loss Feels Overlooked or Hard for Others to Understand

If you have ever heard yourself say, “I know I’m not family, but this hurts like family,” you are not being dramatic. You are naming something many people live through...

The Physical Symptoms of Heartbreak: Can Pet Loss Make You Sick?

The Physical Symptoms of Heartbreak: Can Pet Loss Make You Sick?

The morning after your pet dies can feel unreal in a way that’s hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t lived it. The house is still. The routine is broken....

How to Bury a Dog Safely and Respectfully: Step-by-Step Guide for Families

How to Bury a Dog Safely and Respectfully: Step-by-Step Guide for Families

When a dog dies, the world can feel strangely split in two: the big, aching grief—and the small, immediate questions you never wanted to have to answer. If your instinct...

Eco-Friendly Urns and Biodegradable Options: Water, Soil, and Tree Memorials

Eco-Friendly Urns and Biodegradable Options: Water, Soil, and Tree Memorials

For some families, choosing eco friendly urns isn’t about doing something trendy. It’s about making the memorial match the person. If your loved one composted, hiked, gardened, volunteered for conservation...

Choosing Funeral Flowers: What to Pick and Why It Matters

Choosing Funeral Flowers: What to Pick and Why It Matters

Choosing funeral flowers can feel heavier than it sounds. You are not just picking something that looks nice—you are selecting a symbol meant to sit quietly beside grief. When people...

It’s Just a Cat: How to Handle Insensitive Comments from Friends

It’s Just a Cat: How to Handle Insensitive Comments from Friends

The comment rarely lands gently. You might be standing in the grocery store aisle, moving on autopilot because you ran out of coffee filters. You might be at work, answering...

Pet Memorial Stones and Garden Markers: Engraving Ideas and Placement Tips

Pet Memorial Stones and Garden Markers: Engraving Ideas and Placement Tips

A pet memorial doesn’t have to be elaborate to feel deeply meaningful. In fact, many people find the most comfort in simplicity. A small marker you can touch, a name...

Wake, Viewing, Visitation, and Funeral: What Each One Means and How They’re Different

Wake, Viewing, Visitation, and Funeral: What Each One Means and How They’re Different

If you’ve ever found yourself Googling wake vs viewing or visitation vs funeral at 1 a.m., you’re not alone. Families often inherit a swirl of terms in the days after...

Beautiful Words for Headstones: Epitaph Examples, Phrases, and How to Choose the Right One

Beautiful Words for Headstones: Epitaph Examples, Phrases, and How to Choose the Right One

There’s a moment many families don’t expect: the paperwork is moving, the cemetery decisions are underway, and then someone asks, “What should the stone say?” Suddenly, grief becomes typography. A...

Why Am I Not Crying? Processing Shock and Numbness

Why Am I Not Crying? Processing Shock and Numbness

The first thing many people notice after a pet dies isn’t a flood of tears. It’s the quiet. The house sounds different. The routine has a missing step. The leash...

Navigating Workplace Grief: Should You Take Bereavement Leave for a Pet?

Navigating Workplace Grief: Should You Take Bereavement Leave for a Pet?

The morning after a pet dies can feel strangely ordinary from the outside. The alarm still goes off. The calendar is still full. Emails still arrive with the same urgency...

Grieving a Lost Pet (That Hasn't Died): The Pain of Rehoming or Runaways

Grieving a Lost Pet (That Hasn't Died): The Pain of Rehoming or Runaways

There’s a particular kind of heartbreak that doesn’t come with a “final moment.” No last breath. No goodbye you can prepare for. No clear place to set your grief down....

Types of Headstones and Grave Markers: Materials, Styles, and How They Age

Types of Headstones and Grave Markers: Materials, Styles, and How They Age

Choosing a headstone can feel strangely difficult. Not because you don’t love your person enough to decide—because you do—but because you’re being asked to translate a whole life into a...