Ends – Caskets and Urns News Journal

Tying Up Loose Ends and Looking Ahead to 2022

Tony Ramos — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 21:38:59 +0000

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Now that we’ve closed the books on 2021, everything that was going to happen last year has happened. There’s no going back, no do-overs, and no filling in something you’d planned to do but didn’t have time. Those are the facts.

How many of you sent out holiday cards this year, only to have one or more of them returned? Sometimes, of course, there’s a slight mistake in the address. Yet, in others it’s because someone has died in the past year, and we had not heard of it.

It’s strange to learn of a death, months later, one no one informed us about, particularly when it’s distant family or someone “like family” that someone should have known we’d want to hear. This is an issue that faces everyone whose loved one passes away unexpectedly.

Placing a loved one’s name in an obituary in the newspaper is something we find more challenging for some on a tight budget. We feature all obituaries on our CallawayJones.com website at no cost, but unless someone shares that link on Facebook, or you check our site daily, you won’t know.

We live on tight schedules with deadlines, expected to do more, we’re less likely to run into mutual friends who might share important news. When was the last time your phone actually rang vs. your receiving a text message from someone trying to reach you? Important, meaningful conversations and personal visits have decreased, especially during the holidays.

Chelsea and I were surprised to learn a mutual friend had died a year ago, and no one told us. He was an old friend that we saw once a year, usually at a football game, but this year we didn’t, and no one said a word.

Our relationships with friends and extended family are among the most prized things we have while we’re alive.

In the course of planning for our own futures, we may decide to have a private gathering for ourselves or a loved one. There are a number of reasons for this decision, but one thing to consider is how it is that those who are grieving need a chance to heal.

One of the most important ceremonies, so to speak, that can occur is a period of visitation, to gather together and remember the loved one who passed. In these periods together hearts begin to heal. Saying out loud that we are hurting, that we love and miss the presence of that person in our lives means much to us in the way of progress in moving forward. It’s just not the same when we go to dinner with one other person and talk about someone who’s gone before us as it is when we see people across the room we may not have seen in several years, coworkers, old neighbors, and remember the good times shared with the person who died, and all of us doing it together.

If we can’t say “We are so sorry for your loss” to the family, it feels hollow to sit at a table in front of a “greeting card” and try and write our thoughts and put the heart and spirit we feel in our words. Words said out loud have “life” and “last,” or at least that’s the way I look at it.

Healing alone is not as easy as a process started together. There’s such a benefit from talking out loud…but when people call for a private time to celebrate a life together, when they don’t have a funeral service because they “don’t want a fuss made over them” or “don’t want to put anyone out” or “interrupt someone’s plans and spend all that money coming here,” these are reasons people often cite for not having a formal visitation or reception.

Some people don’t even want to have their obituary or death notice in the newspaper. This is a very sensitive subject, but it’s one that should be taken seriously. There are a number of reasons not to want to announce a death, but they’re not always easy to understand or explain.

Many times in families there are exchanges of cross words or business disagreements when the division of property occurs from generations before yours. Hard feelings cause the division of a family into at least two sides, if not more. Everyone lines up to take a side, often over the division of estate items and funds. Then, silence ensues as lawyers are left to suss out the property and no one gets to share memories.

Words and memories and photos are so much more important than dollars. It may take years to see, but bringing hearts together, in good times and bad, can help healing faster than anything.

When someone passes away and we don’t learn of their absence for even a year or more, it’s like being knocked back with a 2×4 to know that for however long a time you didn’t know it, someone important in your life was gone, and no one told you. Even worse is when you send a holiday card and it gets returned to you, and it’s then when you realize that they died. And no one told you either. People don’t always know who is important in one another’s lives.

If you asked five of your closest friends and coworkers who would be the five most-impacted people when you died, how many of them would actually know who is important in your life? That’s the value of having a public service, or a published death notice or online obituary, so that word can get out and around and loved ones won’t be blindsided.

You might say, well, if they were such good friends, they should have known. There’s truth to that statement and yet, reality is such that we live in a society of instant communication. And, out of sight, often, is out of mind. If we’re not in the same social group anymore, or live in the same neighborhood anymore, then we’re not as likely to be patched into the people who would tell us what has been happening that we might know about.

No matter what your opinion is of whether or not anyone would really care if you died, the truth of the matter is that it really DOES matter to many people that you are here or have left those among us. Maybe it’s uncomfortable to think about having your life honored in some way or other because you don’t think you’re out of the ordinary or special, but the truth is you are special. You do matter and you do impact people in ways you don’t even realize every day of your life.

So, before you say, “Don’t have a service. Don’t put in the paper. Don’t go to any big fuss,” just let your loved ones know that you want a “simple” celebration of life or service, for their grief, and you can allow them to encounter and decide what will bring them the greatest comfort. It’s the last kind act you can do for them.

In this New Year, we can all make a better effort to keep in touch with people in our lives, so we are not the last to know what’s going on with people we care about. Update your address book, both on computer and the handwritten kind. Mark your calendars and remember important dates. As James Taylor sings, “ Shower the people you love with love. Show them the way that you feel.
” Happy 2022 to all of you!

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Spanish: Ataúdes y Urnas Económicos en Venta - Financiamos Aunque Tenga Mal Crédito o Sin Crédito
French: Cercueils et Urnes Abordables à Vendre - Nous Finançons, Mauvais Crédit ou Pas de Crédit Accepté
Japanese: 手頃な価格の棺および壺を販売 - 悪いクレジットやクレジットがなくてもファイナンス可能
Korean: 저렴한 관과 운구 판매 - 나쁜 신용 또는 신용 없음, 금융 지원 가능

Wake Me Up When September Ends | FFFW 206

Tony Ramos — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 21:18:22 +0000

We finance caskets CLICK HERE and send it directly to the funeral home of your choice.
Or go directly to the application HERE.

DISCLAIMER: None of the F’s in FFFW stand for “facts.” Enjoy the jokes and satire.

We’ve reached the last Friday in September… that’s wild. Next week, we’ll be in full fall mode. I’ve already been there for a minute, but I feel as if October makes it official.

So, let’s enjoy this last September together.

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Ranking Funeral Service Names

7) WAKE | I’ve never understood this term. For that reason, it’s ranked at the bottom of the list.

6) FINAL FAREWELL | It sounds more like a tag rather than an event. If this were a list of tags it would be higher, but if we’re using it as a synonym for “Funeral Event” then it’s ranking low.

5) CALLING HOURS | It’s a confusing term. You’re not calling anyone during these hours, but it’s harmless. That’s why it’s not at the bottom

4) LIFE CELEBRATION | I love the heart behind this, but sometimes it’s like calling a futon a “boutique mattress” or something. It’s fine, nothing wrong with a futon, but sometimes you need to set the expectations. That being said some “Life Celebrations” actually are as celebratory as the name sounds, so that’s why it’s above the middle here.

3) CELEBRATION OF LIFE | Just has a better ring to it with the “of.”

2) FUNERAL | I’m a little old school when it comes to this word. It just is what it is and I think it has an excellent tradition behind it. In fact, I truly don’t believe that trying to “fun-up” funerals is the best idea. Let’s let it be what it is- a beautiful farewell to the passing on of a beloved figure.

1) PASSING-ON-PALOOZA | I mean, we can have a little fun, right?

Trivia

How many cities did Abraham Lincoln’s “Funeral Train” pass through?

Click on the right answer, and you’ll see a puppy. Get it wrong, and you’ll see someone hurting themselves.

Answer Choices:

a) 150

b) 180

c) 210

You Otter Be Proud

Here’s some good news going on in the profession.

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Terrybear’s QuickProofs™ Technology Ends the Insanity of the Antiquated Personalization Process

Tony Ramos — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 13:49:38 +0000

We finance caskets CLICK HERE and send it directly to the funeral home of your choice.
Or go directly to the application HERE.

Ever had a conversation like this?

Hey, the family’s here and they’re ready to order their urn.

Great! I’ll be right in.

Are all the engraving documents ready to sign?

I think so; let me find them.

Did you get the email they sent with the art they wanted?

Um, maybe?

They wanted you to find that clip art; did you find it?

I can’t remember …

And the font — did you find that font they were asking for?

I’m not sure …

You need to call the company and see if they even make that font.

Yeah … So, maybe we should reschedule?

The last thing you want to do is let a family down or even make them wait, but you have to admit that the traditional process of personalizing an urn to a family’s exact specifications can test your patience. And the worst part is that preparing for that meeting is just the half of it. There’s still faxing in your drafts to the manufacturer (better make sure you have an extra roll of circa 1990 thermal paper!), emailing the family proofs for approval, emailing them again with a reminder, and finally calling them to make sure they can sign off on the final version — if that is, indeed, the final version.

It’s time to stop the insanity of the manual 20th-century paper-pushing personalization process and try Terrybear’s timesaving, all-digital QuickProofs™ technology through the Memory of a Lifetime online portal.

Specifically built to simplify your life

Highly-personalized deathcare products and services aren’t just a trend or occasional request; today, they are expected. They’re also your opportunity to turn a simple cremation into a truly memorable experience.

“Personalization turns an urn into a memorial,” says Brent Thorson, Manager of Client Success & Growth at Terrybear. “And it’s a value-add for the funeral home. But I’ve seen so many funeral directors who dread it because of a complicated process. Terrybear’s QuickProofs process changes that for them.”

Thorson explains that Terrybear approached the QuickProofs™ personalization technology with the mindset of a funeral director.

“They need an easy way to get a family to sign off,” he says. “They need an easy way to showcase the product with the customization and to show a couple of features. And they need the ability to let the family see different options. We want them to stop doing this manually.”

Save paper, time, and your sanity

Terrybear introduced its online platform, MemoryofaLifetime.com, in 2019 to give funeral homes easy access to the products in their extensive catalog. The platform allows directors to let a family browse for urns and other products as well as create an engraving proof while they’re still in the arrangement room.

You can also create a unique URL to email to families who just aren’t ready to select a product during the arrangement session. QuickProofs™ displays what they type in real time so they can see exactly what it will look like on the selected product. Families can save multiple drafts with different fonts, art, or words to share with others for additional feedback, as well. This is just one more time-consuming task that Terrybear’s portal removes from the funeral home’s list of responsibilities.

This 24/7 online shopping option allows families to shop from the comfort of their own homes on their own timetable. When an order is placed, you’ll receive a notification and details so you can still manage the order. The Terrybear team takes it from there, providing lightning-quick turnaround on all orders.

“We have a full staff dedicated to personalization,” says Thorson. “It’s blown up at our company, and I don’t think it’s going to slow down. With QuickProofs™ and Memory of a Lifetime, we’re offering that Etsy-like experience. Families can go to a digital tool, type in the text, select everything they need, and never even have to talk to a person. But they’re not buying from Etsy; they’re buying from your funeral home.”

Customized for you, too

“One of the things we’ve heard in the last several years is that families are ordering their urns online; they’re going to Amazon, they’re going to Etsy,” Nikki Nordeen, Terrybear’s Director of Marketing & Business Development, shared with Connecting Directors recently. “We wanted to offer funeral homes the ability to have their own ecommerce site so they can compete with the Amazons and the Etsys and offer a great, beautiful user experience — and not lose those sales to online vendors.”

The recently revamped Memory of a Lifetime portal allows you to customize and brand the site and make it your own, complete with your own logo, unique URLs, and your firm’s retail pricing.

“The site looks like it’s part of your funeral home’s website,” said Nordeen. “You can upload your retail prices so the families will see all of the pricing that matches exactly the way you want to sell it. It’s not like we choose a price and you make a commission. With the new site, you choose 100% how much money you want to make. It’s 100% in the hands of the funeral home.”

The new pricing feature also helps you adhere to The Funeral Rule and ensures that your online pricing matches your General Price List.

Don’t wait any longer

It’s time to stop pushing paper, feeding a fax machine, and spending hours of your already-limited days chasing after approvals. Terrybear’s QuickProofs™ technology will forever change the way you approach personalization, and your families will thank you for it.

You can try out Terrybear’s Memory of a Lifetime digital portal at absolutely no cost, and trust that Terrybear will deliver the quality, service, and support you’ve come to expect. To get started, simply visit Terrybear.com/join to register. If you need additional assistance do not hesitate to call Terrybear directly at 1.888.588.8767, they will ensure you get set up to begin using this free tool.

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