Keohane Funeral Home

Personal Touches to Make a Funeral Unique

September 15, 2023

Up until recently, most funerals were held in a traditional setting with a common order of service that was diverse only according to cultural traditions. In contrast, today many people want to create a memorable event that reflects the unique personality, hobbies, and interests of the individual who died. The sky is the limit when it comes to personal touches at a funeral. So, we will try to provide a few ideas to help you create a perfectly personal funeral or memorial service.

Reputation

When you say the name of your loved one, what comes to mind for most people? For example, she baked cookies for everyone, had a way with horses, sewed doll clothes, shopped garage sales like nobody’s bu

siness, or was an avid sports fan. He had a razzle-dazzle neck-tie collection, drove a vintage car, read profusely, volunteered at the hospital, or was an epic BBQ master. Grab a piece of paper and a pencil – list the things that made your loved one unique. And feel free to ask the people who knew them best, “When you hear ______’s name, what immediately comes to mind?”

Happiness

It is likely that whatever made your loved one happy will also warm the hearts of the people at the funeral or memorial service. If your loved one liked balloons, have balloons instead of flowers. If they were known for their famous jalapeño jelly, you could provide copies of the recipe and serve samples or give away small jars of the delicacy. Sometimes we forget that a funeral is rarely 100% sadness. Precious memories of the person we loved can give us joy, help us feel grateful, and even make us laugh. If your loved one was a gardener, maybe you could give each person a package of forget-me-not flower seeds as a fitting memento, and if they loved making cards to send to people you could provide cards and stamps so everyone at the funeral could send a loving note to a friend or a shut-in, in their honor.

Events

It could be the middle of a sizzling summer, but your family member loved Christmas. So, you may want to set up a small Christmas tree in the foyer surrounded by Christmas ornaments for people to choose from as a memento. Or, if they were huge football fans, you could ask attendees to wear their favorite team colors and jerseys. Think about what time of year your loved one enjoyed the most and use that as the theme for the funeral.

Ideas

If you’re having trouble thinking of ideas, ask some friends and family members to help you. Try to graciously involve all family members who would like to be a part of the planning. Here are a few theme ideas that we hope will help you think of unique touches for your loved one’s funeral or memorial service.

Fishing: Prop up their fishing poles by the welcome table, have fishing nets on the platform under the casket, and scatter Swedish fish candies on the luncheon tables. You could create a peaceful fishing ambiance by playing a recording of ocean waves or a gurgling fishing stream while people are walking in or out of the service. You could even choose one of your loved one’s favorite fishing ponds or streams for the venue.

Quilting: Set their sewing basket on the welcome table. Cover the welcome table, church pews, or luncheon tables with quilts made by your loved one instead of tablecloths. Have everyone sign a quilt or quilt square that someone will, in the future, sew into a precious quilt. Display photos of your loved one with quilts they created and gave away. Drape the casket with a quilt covered with outlines of the hands of their loved ones.

Old Cars: Set up the parking lot as a memorial car show, and invite everyone to bring their old cars. Instead of a book, have everyone sign a hubcap or a roadmap at the funeral entrance. Have a small table with toy cars for children to play with during mealtime. Place road maps under vintage car décor on the lunch tables. Give away toy cars as a memento.

Art: Create a simple coloring book with drawings that remind you of your loved one to give to children and anyone who likes to color. Don’t forget to include a miniature package of crayons for each person (you could buy a big box and place three or four crayons in a snack-sized zip-lock bag or just place one or two boxes of crayons at each luncheon table. Display works of art they created or a slideshow of their favorite works of art. Instead of signing a book, have people draw a doodle with their name beside it on a frameable posterboard or white photo matte for framing.

There are a few other blogs on our website that might help you create a personalized service: you can learn about meaningful tributes, get music ideas, or find out about planting a tree of remembrance. We hope these ideas will help you plan an event that will truly honor your loved one in a unique way. Please feel free to check out our website for other ideas or call us with your questions at (617)773-3551.