How To Honor The Legacy Of Loved Ones When They Choose Cremation

How To Honor The Legacy Of Loved Ones When They Choose Cremation

With the growing rate of individuals making cremation an end of life option, it’s important to understand this should not include the elimination of ceremony or not choosing a final resting place. In fact, cremation is unique in the sense that it leaves an array of options, far more than traditional burial. Simply opting to place an urn on the family’s home mantle becomes a temporary decision that someday will represent itself. Honoring the lives of our loved one, their final resting place marks a sacred space in which to connect, chat, laugh, and celebrate. It becomes their final mark on the world where their legacy can live on.

Please use this as a guide to have a conversation with your loved one who may have chosen cremation. Remind them their story should be told and their legacy shared.

Start The Conversation

A wonderful first step to take is to have a conversation with your loved one that has expressed their wishes for cremation. They might feel hesitant to discuss their mortality but this is where you can step in and put them at ease. Remind them their end of life preference does not take away from the joy their loved ones will share in getting to celebrate the legacy they leave behind. Their life deeply matters to you and their wishes being carried out is pertinent. Although the conversation may not come naturally, it could potentially lead to some wonderful new memories and ideas for you to help them include.

Go Over The Details

Now that you have gained some perspective, you can begin to go over the details of their end of life arrangements. Do you picture tears of joy, the rekindling of distanced family members, or shared laughter in all of the fond memories? Where would they want their ceremony to take place? What types of flowers should be there? Where would they want their final resting place to be? In a memorial park, or in an urn with a specific family member? Take some time to help them process exactly how they would want this day to unfold.

Write It Down

Be sure to thoroughly document the discussion and record all of their wishes. This can be in the form of a will or just a simple piece of paper that you can safely set aside for your family. A few questions for them to consider would be: Who will be responsible for taking care of my Urn? Who will they pass it down to after they can no longer be responsible? Write down a list of people that will need to be informed of their passing that your family may not know to contact. Taking these measures will take the anxiety off of them feeling alone in this preparation process and more at peace with what the future holds knowing it is taken care of.

Take The Next Step

In order to ensure that everything goes according to your loved one’s desired plan, encourage them to take the next step by sitting down with one of our Trusted Advisors. Before you attend your session, be sure to explain to them the purpose of this gathering. These meetings are very insightful and will put them at ease with the idea of preparing for one of the most difficult parts of life. Once they know that their end of life planning is accounted for, they will immediately feel the weight lifted off their shoulders and enable their family to celebrate their life and legacy joyfully.

Green Hills Memorial Park understands how much easier it is on a family when their thoughts and wishes are recorded in advance so there are no surprises at the time of need. After walking with thousands of families, we created a way for individuals to pre-plan for their end of life arrangements. Allow us to alleviate the anxiety so your loved ones can experience joy in the celebration of their life. Protect their legacy with Advance Planning.

If you or a loved one needs assistance or has any questions regarding Advance Planning or any other inquiries, please call us at 310-521-4333. We can also be reached by email at preplan@ghmp.com.