March 24, 2025

Funerals are an emotionally challenging time, and floral arrangements play a crucial role in expressing condolences, offering comfort, and honoring the memory of the deceased. Whether you are planning a tribute or selecting flowers to send, the arrangement you choose can convey sentiments of sympathy, remembrance, and love. Here’s a guide to help you navigate the selection process thoughtfully and respectfully. Understand the Purpose of Funeral Flowers Funeral flowers have long been associated with expressing sympathy, love, and reverence for the deceased. They provide a visual representation of the support and empathy being extended to grieving families. Floral arrangements can also enhance the atmosphere, offering a sense of peace, comfort, and beauty amidst sorrow. When selecting funeral flowers, think about the emotions you wish to convey. A well-chosen arrangement can serve as a tribute to the life of the deceased and a source of solace for those mourning. Types of Funeral Floral Arrangements There are various floral arrangements, each serving a distinct purpose. Here’s a breakdown of the most common options: Casket Sprays: Typically placed directly on the casket, these large, elegant arrangements are often the most prominent floral tribute. They can be designed in various colors and styles, including traditional or more contemporary themes. Standing Sprays: These arrangements are often displayed at the front of the ceremony or in a prominent location and are typically mounted on an easel. Wreaths: Circular in shape, wreaths symbolize eternity and the circle of life. They can be placed near the casket or at the memorial site. Wreaths are particularly popular for religious ceremonies. Sympathy Bouquets and Basket Arrangements: These smaller arrangements are often sent directly to the family’s home after the funeral. Funeral Crosses: These floral arrangements take the shape of a cross, providing a religious and solemn tribute. Selecting Flowers for the Arrangement The type of flowers chosen for a funeral arrangement can add another layer of meaning. Some flowers have traditional associations with funerals and carry symbolic meanings that make them particularly appropriate for these occasions. Lilies: Often regarded as a symbol of the restored innocence of the soul of the deceased, lilies are a popular choice for funerals. They convey purity and peace. Roses: Different colors of roses convey different meanings. Red roses symbolize love and respect, while white roses represent purity, innocence, and reverence. Yellow roses can symbolize friendship, making them a thoughtful choice for someone who was a dear friend. Chrysanthemums: Particularly popular in many cultures, chrysanthemums symbolize death and are often associated with the honor and remembrance of the deceased. Carnations: Known for their long-lasting qualities, carnations are often used in funeral arrangements to symbolize love and remembrance. Red carnations are associated with admiration, while white carnations represent a love that is eternal. Orchids: An elegant choice, orchids are often associated with beauty, strength, and love. They are a fitting tribute to someone whose beauty or strength left a lasting impression. Daisies: Known for their simplicity and purity, daisies symbolize innocence and are often chosen for someone who led a kind and pure life. Color Choices The color of the flowers can convey different sentiments. Generally, soft pastel tones such as white, pale pink, lavender, and soft yellow are seen as respectful and peaceful. Darker hues like deep reds, purples, or burgundy can symbolize deeper emotions of mourning and respect. Consider the emotional tone you wish to set when selecting the color scheme. White and Light Colors: These colors are symbolic of purity, innocence, and peace. They are ideal for creating a calming, reflective atmosphere. Rich Colors: Darker flowers like deep reds and purples are more somber and convey respect, admiration, and heartfelt mourning. Mixed Colors: A mix of colors can be used to celebrate the life and personality of the deceased, particularly if they enjoy vibrant colors. Selecting funeral flowers is a meaningful way to show respect and offer comfort during a time of loss. When choosing an arrangement, think about the message you want to convey and the emotions you wish to express. From elegant lilies and roses to more personalized arrangements, flowers provide a beautiful tribute to the deceased and a heartfelt gesture for grieving families. Whether you opt for traditional arrangements like casket sprays and wreaths or choose simpler options like sympathy bouquets, your selection can help honor a life lived and provide solace to those mourning the loss. Thoughtfully chosen funeral flowers will offer comfort during one of life’s most challenging moments.

December 23, 2024

Grief is a journey that no one wants to traverse, yet it is a path many will find themselves on when a loved one passes away. As we contemplate the profound impact of loss, it’s vital to recognize how we can reach out and support our friends during their times of sorrow. Understanding our role can foster connection and compassion, especially in a world filled with emotional challenges. When we think about navigating this sensitive subject, finding the right balance between offering support and respecting personal space is essential, particularly as families often seek services from adjacent resources, such as Rochester, NY funeral homes. Understanding Grief and Its Phases Before we can effectively support our grieving friends, we should take time to understand the grieving process itself. Grief is not linear and encompasses various emotions and phases: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The upheaval following a loss can bring about tumultuous feelings, and it’s important to remember that your friend may oscillate between these stages throughout their journey. A critical way that we can help is by being present. Sometimes, your friend may need a listening ear more than they need advice. Allowing them the space to express their thoughts and feelings without judgment can be incredibly beneficial. It may be helpful to encourage them to share funny or touching memories they have of their loved one, a practice that can provide moments of solace amidst the turmoil. Offering Practical Support Helping a friend through grief also means offering practical assistance. Grieving can be an exhausting and overwhelming experience, leaving little energy for everyday tasks. Offer to help with simple chores—cooking meals, running errands, or helping keep things organized at home. Sometimes, just knowing someone is there, offering to shoulder some of life’s burdens, can alleviate the stress your friend is feeling. In addition to offering tangible help, suggesting options from local services can also ease the burden. For instance, if your friend needs support in navigating funeral logistics, it’s wise to mention reputable funeral homes, that they could consider, like Rochester Cremation. Knowing that compassionate professionals are available can bring reassurance and peace to their difficult journey. Creating a Comfortable Environment for Healing When it comes to helping a grieving friend, creating an environment that allows for open conversation is critical. While checking in on them is appreciated, remember to approach them sensitively. Each day might feel different for your friend, so the time you spend together should evolve based on their needs and feelings. Inviting your friend out for a walk—some fresh air can aid in emotional healing—might help distract them from their grief, although it’s essential not to force social interaction if they seem disinterested. The simplest gestures, like a text message to let them know you’re thinking of them, can go a long way, even if they don’t respond immediately. Respecting Boundaries and Understanding Signs of Need While offering support, it’s just as vital to acknowledge when to step back. Everyone’s process is unique, and not everyone is comfortable discussing their grief openly. Pay attention to their cues; if they seem withdrawn or if they indicate a desire for solitude, honor that choice. Encourage professional support if needed. Whether it’s suggesting a grief counselor or attending a support group together, prioritizing their mental health by finding professional help can be a game changer. Informing them about available local resources shows that you care and are looking out for their well-being. The road following a loss is fraught with challenges. Yet, knowing we can play a role in transforming a friend’s grief reality can inspire hope. In conclusion, as we support our friends during these heartbreaking times, let’s embrace compassion and understanding, remembering our larger community as we navigate the journey together. If you have questions regarding resources or services through Rochester, NY funeral homes, reach out for help. The existence of compassionate professionals at places like Rochester Cremation highlights that support is always within reach.

What Deathcare Professionals (and the Families You Serve) Can Learn From Celebrity Deaths 

The recent tragic drug-related death of 31-year-old One Direction singer Liam Payne has sparked a good bit of discussion on why fans of celebrities mourn them just as deeply as they would a deceased family member. The phenomenon of celebrity grief is very real, and for many of Payne’s young fans, this may be their first exposure to death and mourning. Deathcare professionals who understand the impact of this particular kind of loss will be better prepared to share this knowledge when a family questions why its happening to them or their children.

The validity of celebrity grief is just one lesson one can learn from the death of beloved celebrities. These high-profile passings — and often, their aftermath — can also help you to explain key concepts to the families you serve. Here are some examples of how you can use real celebrity situations to better your business and support survivors.

Prince: Don’t die without a will

Despite his vast and complicated collection of assets, musician Prince did not have either a will or an estate plan in place when he died in 2016 at the age of 57. As a result, the probate process for Prince’s $156 million estate took more than six years to settle through the court system. Prince died with no spouse or children, so his six half-siblings were named heirs. Three sold their stakes to a Primary Wave, a music publishing company, while the other three maintained their portions. The protracted probate process included equitably splitting Prince’s intellectual property (music catalog, likeness, name, etc.) rights, real estate, and $6 million in cash.

Lisa Marie Presley: Directors will go above and beyond to help, no matter what (or how long) it takes

As the only child of the King of Rock and Roll, Lisa Marie Presley would have been a celebrity even if she hadn’t had her own music career and married two very famous people (Michael Jackson and Nicholas Cage). Sadly, Lisa Marie died suddenly in January 2023 at the age of 54, but she left a lesson for deathcare in her posthumously-published memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown. In the book she describes her grief after her 27-year-old son Benjamin’s death from suicide. She also admits to keeping his unembalmed body in a coffin with dry ice for two months in a 55-degree-temp bedroom as she mourned his loss and decided where to bury him. Presley’s funeral director patiently guided and assisted her with these preparations, serving her slightly unusual needs until she was ready for her son’s final disposition.

Kobe Bryant: Put your intentions in writing and keep documents updated

Basketball phenom Kobe Bryant wasn’t just talented on the court; he was also a successful businessperson who understood the importance of creating a highly detailed estate plan. However, after his death in a helicopter accident in 2020, his family realized that he’d missed two important additions: He never added his youngest daughter, Capri, to his trust, and despite verbally committing many times to “take care of” his mom, he never explicitly spelled out his intentions in his official estate documents. 

Casey Kasem: It’s not enough to just say you want to be buried

The 2014 death of America’s DJ Casey Kasem from a dementia-related disease was tragic enough, but the drama his family created before and long after his passing was even worse. Kasem’s wife Jean and his children from a previous marriage took several of their contentions against one another to court, but while those proceedings were playing out, Jean quietly shipped Kasem’s body to Norway for burial in an unmarked grave. His children claim she did this just to spite them, and claimed Kasem had told them he wanted to be buried at Forest Lawn in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, there were no documents to prove this. Ten years later, Kasem’s daughter Kerri is still hoping she can one day have her father’s body transferred back to the states and properly memorialized with a marker.

Paul Walker: You’re never too young to pre-plan

Actor Paul Walker’s recurring roles in the Fast ‘n’ Furious movie franchise had helped him to amass a $25 million estate — all of which was inherited by his 15-year-old daughter upon Walker’s tragic death in 2020. Although he was only 40 years old when he died, Walker had already created a will that created a trust for his daughter and specifically outlined his wishes as to who should be his daughter’s legal guardian.

Secrets to Successfully Sharing Parting Stone With the Families You Serve

Earlier this year, funeral director Lacee Green was surprised to learn from Parting Stone founder Justin Crowe that she was the top seller among the company’s many partners. That’s because to Lacee, solidified remains from Parting Stone aren’t something she “sells.” They are something she simply feels she has to share with the families she serves.

“I did not set out to do that,” says Green, who serves families in the Denver, Colorado area. “It’s just when I started here, I found such value in them. I started to see families’ experiences in their emotions and their feedback. And it just became natural for me to offer.”

Personal stories set the scene

Green loves the concept of Parting Stone: offering families the opportunity to transform the messy cremated remains of a loved one into smooth stones that they can hold, display, and share. She loved it so much that she entrusted the company with the remains of her beloved 14-year-old cat. That personal experience just added to her enthusiasm for and belief in Parting Stone.

Jill St. Laurent has a story similar to Green’s. A licensed funeral director who serves Legacy Funeral Group as Training and Development Coach, St. Laurent has introduced Parting Stone to many Legacy staff members. However, it wasn’t until last year that she came to realize the profound impact solidified remains can have on a family who has lost a loved one.

“I was able to send a portion of my grandfather’s cremated remains [to Parting Stone],” St. Laurent shares. “His stones have gone to six states and back to his farm in Nebraska. There’s a little piece of him everywhere because it continued his life story.”

Certainly, these personal encounters with Parting Stone have provided incredibly meaningful stories for St. Laurent and Green to share with families. Even though that won’t be the case for every deathcare professional who has the opportunity to share Parting Stone with families, these stories — and the approaches these directors have adopted to explain and promote the concept — can serve as an effective blueprint for successfully offering this unique service. 

1. First impressions matter

As St. Laurent and Green explain specifically how they introduce Parting Stone during their interactions with families, both disclose that having Parting Stones on display is foundational.

“We strive to keep them on the arrangement tables so that it’s part of the conversation,” St. Laurent says, explaining that Parting Stone’s training team supplies partners with a complete kit of materials, including sample stones, to share with families.

Green says she, too, keeps solidified remains visible during arrangement meetings.

“I have two sets of stones in two different display table pieces,” she says, adding that she also has a Parting Stone testimonial video brochure from Parting Stone on hand, which she supplements with her own story.

2.  Every time, to every family

Another key to Green’s success is that she tells every family about Parting Stone — even if they have selected a disposition other than cremation.

“I offer them to my burial/traditional casket families,” she says. “There are a lot of people with cremated remains sitting in their closets. I’ve had a couple of families I served when one of their parents died and they’d had the cremated remains of the other parent in an urn at home for 10 or 15 years; they brought both urns to me and I had both turned into stones for them. [I tell every family because] even if they’re not interested, they’re going to know somebody else. I’ve had a lot of referrals from those families.”

St. Laurent agrees.

“You never know who’s sitting across from you at the table,” she says. “And you never know who is influencing that decision maker at the table for other options and how we can impact the entire family.”

She speaks from experience, as she was prompted to send her grandfather’s remains to Parting Stone after getting a call from a cousin who learned of the company during Crowe’s appearance on Shark Tank — one week after their grandfather’s death.

“The next week he texted me and said, ‘What is this?’” she recalls. “I said, ‘We can offer that. My company offers it.’”

3. Educate yourself on the product and process

Despite the exposure Parting Stone received from the Shark Tank deal and the exponentially growing number of social media stories families are posting, there are still millions of people who have never heard about solidified remains. That’s why the educational component of the training St. Laurent provides to her firm’s directors is so important. 

“That gives them the training and confidence to just have a conversation,” she says. “They feel confident that if a family asks about it, they know how to order it, how the process of solidification happens, and what to expect after the remains are shipped back. It gives them a better understanding [so that they aren’t just saying], ‘This is Parting Stone.’”

Top seller Green has provided similar advice to other directors in the Denver market when they call to ask her how she’s been so successful.

“I’ve asked those location leaders if I can come speak to their directors,” Green says, “because if you’re not comfortable introducing something to somebody because you don’t know about it, you’re just not going to talk about it, right? And I don’t feel that directors are talking about it because they don’t know how to introduce it.”

4. Introduce Parting Stone as the innovation it is

Once a director is familiar with Parting Stone, St. Laurent suggests they use some of the arrangement meeting time as an opportunity to pass that education along to the families.

“They don’t know what they don’t know,” she says. “They don’t know what’s out there until we say, ‘Can I have just five minutes of your time to tell you about some of the other options that weren’t’ around five or ten years ago?’”  

During those conversations, St. Laurent explains that burial and cremation are no longer the only forms of disposition, and ashes are no longer the only form of cremated remains that can be returned to the family. She adds that asking questions of those folks around the table about what they and their other family members would like or need is important.

5. Know enough to share alternative solutions and benefits

Both St. Laurent and Green admit that not every family is going to automatically choose Parting Stone for their loved one’s remains. Green has had to overcome family members’ objections to the new idea of transforming ashes into solidified form plenty of times. To her, that’s an opportunity to propose new options.

“I share experiences of what other families have done with the stones, and I can see their wheels turning,” Green says. “I see them thinking. But some people may not be super hot on the stones. I tell them that’s ok, because they can send in all of the remains, or they can send just a portion of them, and keep the ash part to scatter. That’s the awesome, flexible part of Parting Stone.”

A director at one of the locations where St. Laurent trains asks an especially effective question of direct cremation families who want just that — cremation services only.

“They have found great success in saying, ‘Tell me what you’re going to do with Mom afterwards,’” she says. “They explain that there’s no amount of personalization you can do on an urn to make it as personal as solidified remains, which you can hold in your hand. This is not a disposition. This is not a keepsake. It’s not a fingerprint. It’s just Mom, in a different form.”

6. Anytime is a good time

Sometimes those initial conversations about Parting Stone are simply an opportunity to plant a seed of an idea that sprouts at a later date. Parting Stone also provides directors a wonderful reason to reach back out to cremation families years after they’ve received the cremated remains of their loved one.

“You can always go back and serve those families that have maybe taken their loved one home in the past years,” St. Laurent says. “It’s a good time to have a phone call with them just to say, ‘Just want to let you know we’re thinking of you. And you know, we do have a new option now.’ I feel like it’s our duty as an industry just to give the options.”

Green agrees.

“I am so thankful that this company is out there and that families have another option,” she adds. “There are so many people sitting with ashes at home. They can do something more meaningful. This is another avenue I can offer their family. And it’s brand new. And they’re going to love it. I’ve not had one family come back and tell me they did not like the stones.”

Want to learn more about solidified remains? Sign up for their informational webinar on Halloween at 2pm EST to learn how other funeral homes are growing their business with Parting Stone.

To Love and to Serve: The Funeral Director’s Dilemma

Virtual Funeral Professionals Peer Support Meeting in March

WHEELING, IL— A funeral professional may be called upon as an event planner, a chauffeur, a makeup artist, an advisor on grief and accounting, and much more – wearing many hats during working hours. A funeral professional may also be a spouse, partner, companion, and parent. Finding time to wear all those additional hats can mean stress and strife in addition to love and joy. 

This month’s virtual Funeral Professionals Peer Support Meeting focuses on the challenges of a life dedicated to both service to others and love of a partner. Join the conversation Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 5pm PT.

It can be hard to have a successful personal life when your professional life depends on 24/7-availability. On March 19, Dwight EA Thompson facilitates a discussion on the unique challenges funeral professionals face to strike a balance. Prior to becoming a therapist specializing in couples counseling, Dwight spent 12 years as a funeral director and embalmer and understands the particular needs of a funeral professional in a relationship. Dwight brings his unique perspective to the March peer support meeting to talk about emotional tolerance and bonding between funeral professionals and their partners. That’s why, special to this meeting, partners are invited to join their funeral professional and participate in the conversation.

“I think people who grow up in the environment understand it, or at least have a special resilience to it,” offers Dwight. “It can often be an alien experience however for a partner who doesn’t—or hasn’t had that experience. There is no emotional tolerance for this type of life, where endured absences define a large part of life.” So, bring your partner and take some time to connect over this conversation.

Take time to talk to your fellow funeral professionals who share your experience balancing date-nights with on-call schedules. Invite your partner and join Dwight for funeral professional peer support on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 5pm PT via Zoom link at cremationassociation.org/peersupport. No registration is required, simply follow the link to join.

About Funeral Professionals Peer Support

Funeral Professionals Peer Support Group is committed to providing support, healing, education and knowledge to funeral professionals. They promote wholeness and wellness by uniting funeral sector professionals through a Canada-wide network of regional organizations offering support, information and resources within their community. 

About CANA

Founded in 1913, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) is an international organization of over 3,700 members, composed of funeral homes, cemeteries, crematories, industry suppliers, and consultants. CANA members believe that cremation is preparation for memorialization.