Remembering loved ones can help us grieve and make sure that person's life is honored. There are many ways to remember a loved one beyond just having a funeral service or memorial dinner. When you think about the person you lost, what comes to mind?
What things did they like to do? Doing some of their favorite things can help you remember and feel close to them in a way they would appreciate too.
How do I remember my lost friend or loved one? Certainly, you will always remember them in your heart and mind forever, but sometimes we seek more tangible ways. Some of the things that you may do include, dedicating monument benches or plant trees, transform their favorite clothes into Teddy Bears, frame an important piece of clothing, or even make an altar. The possibilities are endless and are only limited by your imagination.
Make a donation in honor of someone gone before their time and have their legacy live on.
After the funeral or memorial service is done, we often feel that the love dies for a relative or friend. Of course that is not the case. However these are incredibly difficult times, you are in mourning, you are devastated, you are sad, and it may be easy to forget those fond memories that you hold dear to your heart for that relative or friend. After the funeral service and grieving process, you want to remember their life.
Some say that no one truly dies until we stop speaking a loved one's name. It is this death that we, as the persons left behind, have to prevent from happening. When a loved one dies, we can be left with a feeling of helplessness and confusion of how to carry on. While this is normal, it is also incredibly difficult. But that’s where we can honor their memory, and create something to celebrate their life and prevent this death from ever taking place. By paying tribute to the deceased person's remembrance, we can take charge of our grief and use it for good.
Grief is a natural process and there is no time limit for it, for some it may take months, while for others it may take many years. Death is never easy to deal with, you feel like you have lost your entire world, you miss them and wish you could just speak to them one more time.
When someone died from a drug overdose, we are not willing to accept that they are gone. This is particularly hard on mothers. No matter how much we cry, we still feel the grief and wish instead that we still had the joy felt with that loved one. There are things you can do after after that person has gone to heaven, so you never need to say a final goodbye.
With your bench donation, Before Their Time will install a bench with a memorial plaque on a park bench, engraved with a special personal message by you, and maintain it for 10 years. Benches are only available in certain towns where we are building parks to memorialize victims of drug overdoses.
With a memorial bench, a person can easily order the bench and send us the message they want to be inscribed. The process is quite simple and the benefits of the bench will last for a decade.
Adopt a Bench $10,000
Donations are tax deductible under the maximum allowed by law.
You may also create an online memorial for your loved ones here.
Plant a tree in remembrance of someone in one of our parks in honor of a loved one. Our skilled landscapers will select a species and location within the park based on the needs of that individual species. Your living legacy donation will include a plaque installed around the tree's bed.
As living tributes to remember a loved one, these trees are unique and symbolic which lives on for generations and benefit us all. Trees are a vital part of our ecosystem and help support a habitat for birds and other wildlife.
Dedicate a Tree $2000
Donations are 100% tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
You may also create an online memorial for your loved ones here.
Before Their Time is building parks throughout local communities. When a gift of land is donated to us, depending on the size and location, we utilize the property to turn it into lovely green space for towns. We work with landowners and public agencies to acquire, create, and secure public ownership of the lands that enhance quality of life and make our communities great places to remember those who were taken by drug overdoses.
We work with and support communities to plan, design, and create parks. we work with communities to ensure that development happens for them, and not to them.
All of our parks have a memorial garden, benches, trails, trees, shrubs and a bird feeder, establishing a peaceful environment to sit and reflect on those we lost.
Of course your memorial to any deceased loved one does not have to be memorial gifts. There are many ways in which you can remember a loved one that does not cost any money. Remember your loved one in any passionate way that will remind you of that person and all the ways you want their legacy to live on forever.
Though we rarely have the appropriate words to describe it, when we experience overwhelming sorrow, what is actually happening is that we are losing a part of ourselves due to the death of another. As a result, when we spend time remembering a loved one, we start to heal and come to terms with the fact that life will never be the same.
While life isn’t going to be the same, we can do our best to honor the deceased and finding time to remember them. Taking steps to honor them is a way to ensure that the person is never really gone but lives on inside of us.
When we memorialize someone, it’s really to keep them continually with us, and avoid that final death of where they are never spoken of again. Not only in our own memory, but also in the memory of our community.
So what can you and your relatives do to have a loved one's memories live on? Here are some ideas that will help you through the grieving process.
Getting everyone together for baseball or holidays, a large Thanksgiving dinner, a picnic, going to the beach? Traditions are crucial to keeping families together, and to keeping memories fresh in our minds, especially for kids. Think of a tradition you shared with your loved one and do your best to keep it going with relatives and friends.
It might be something small like always eating pizza while watching football. It might be something big, like taking a vacation to Disney. Carry on that tradition in honor of the former things you used to do together and do some of their favorite things.
You can show more love, as you mourn by displaying an updated family tree at the memorial reception. It is a nice touch for those who are interested in their family history. You can remember a loved one, ensuring they are not forgotten, by making a family tree. You will however, need to search for a lot of information.
Families frequently get together at funerals to rekindle old connections. You will talk with and see relatives who you may not have seen in a while. Many family history investigations start by consulting the memories of those who can testify to historical accounts. The best place to start is by speaking with your living relatives; inform them of your study and ask them about your family and the past. A lot of study starts by contacting people who can vouch for historical accounts. Take notes on everything they say.
The internet is a great place to look for information at any stage of your journey. If you are interested in getting detailed family history research, check out genealogy websites such as Ancestry.com or 23andme.com. Search online and find all the information you can about ancestors.
Death and marriage records are another great place to look for information. If you are unable to find this information on a website, consider visiting your local courthouse. Also old newspapers, articles and library archives may help your search and confirm details you learned from family.
Sometimes the greatest information for family history researchers can be found in obituaries. When a person passes away and their surviving family members write about them in a newspaper or online, they leave behind a document for future generations. This can provide you with a wealth of information about the life of the deceased individual as well as their survivors and predecessors.
If a loved one has recently passed away, think about writing an online obituary that honors their life. List all of their loved ones, both living and deceased, in order to create a full record for you and other family history researchers in the future. A family tree, no matter how simple or intricate, is a living memory.
Food is a fantastic way to build relationships and a wonderful way to honor the memory of someone. Whether it's picking up their go-to holiday recipe, like meatballs, or just occasionally indulging in their favored snacks. A simple method to talk about your loved one with your family and friends is to eat the same food they did.
Whether your loved one preferred pizza or Grandma's lasagna, choose to occasionally enjoy their favorite dishes, think of them, and smile. You can either have a meal together with friends and family or you can dine by yourself.
Connect with Others
When you suffer a loss, it’s easy to feel isolated and alone. Remember that you’re not the only one who’s suffering, and it can be a great comfort to take the time to visit with other people who are experiencing the same loss. You and your family can share words, tell stories, and just communally remember your loved one.
Getting together with others who had a relationship with your loved one can help. Rather than just sit and talk, you might find it helpful to plan a trip together. Play the person’s favorite music, tell stories or have a picnic in the park. The more personal, the greater you will smile.
When a loved one passes away, often we are left not only with their memory, but closets and drawers full of their belongings. These possessions are a link to that individual, so it is difficult to part with them. Think about creating something useful from their favorite clothing items so you can use it around the home. You can make pillows, patchwork quilts, blankets and more. One of the most popular keepsakes is a simple locket with a picture inside. That way you can cherish them around your neck for years to come.
It can be elaborate, such as a photos and candles, or something simple like a few personal items together in one place. Whatever you do, making a small shrine in your home is a way to remember them each day. Photographs of a friend, family or loved one with a few candles in front is common. There can even be other memorabilia in front of the pictures, like little trinkets that were important to them. This can be just what we need when we are feeling lost and alone. Another great way of remembering them is to develop a website.
Today, we all have access to the tools needed to put together a video directly on our phones. Create a video from your collected photos, videos, and audio that you can watch several times a year or every few months with family and friends. You can even include their favorite song. This will become valuable as the years go on and we start to forget little things like the sound their voice. It’s a way to remember when the memories begin to fade. Our brains eventually bury memories away. It’s may be hard to remember those fond times. This is a way to hold on and revisit so they will always be remembered.
Every year, on the anniversary of your loved one’s birthday, visit with friends and family, and take some time to share a meal. Getting together with those of you who have felt the loss is a good way to share your grief and also celebrate your loved one’s memory together. Celebrating birthdays is something that one can do to take comfort and keep a loved one’s me
