Author: Brock Sheets

Whether you’re Memorializing a Facebook Account of a recently deceased loved-one, or you’re thinking proactively about your own facebook Profile, These brief tutorials are sure to help!

Securing a digital footprint by memorializing a Facebook account after death is a critical step during the process of planning a memorial.

Here are some steps you can take in securing a digital footprint after death:

1. Designate a Legacy Contact

This is a proactive step you can take on your own Facebook account to determine who will be in charge of managing your Facebook profile after your death. This can also be done for a recently deceased loved-one if you have direct access to their Facebook login.

2. Request Memorialization of a Facebook Account

Facebook’s memorialization tools are helpful. But memorializing a Facebook account is no replacement for a beautiful tribute page! With a memorial website from Willowise, visitors don’t need any social media profile to interact. Visitors don’t have to create a profile or get any spam email! As a result, they have a much more pleasant time using the tribute page. Contact Willowise to learn how we can help you create a memorial website and online memorial gathering for your loved-one.

If you’re considering planning an online funeral, you’re not alone. Interest in remote memorial services surged during the 2020 pandemic. But now, because of the many advantages of virtual memorial services, the option is here to stay.

What advantages, you ask? Good question. 

Here are 7 benefits of virtual memorial services and funerals.

1. Virtual memorial services eliminate the need to travel

People love to travel for vacation or adventure. But for memorial services? No one enjoys going through airport security or figuring out which terminal is right or where to leave vehicles. 

And those hassles are common to all of us. Imagine the many extra unique-to-you reasons to stay put. For every person, there’s a good reason not to travel. One family member has a gaggle of youngsters. Another wants to avoid spreading pathogens. Someone else can’t take multiple days off work. Still another friend is too old to travel comfortably anymore. The vast majority of people have at least one reason to avoid traveling. 

Not to mention, travel consumes so much time. It’s hard knowing you’ve just spent valuable days getting somewhere, only for a few hours of face-to-face time. You see, even though those few hours are precious, it’s nothing like the extended time you’d get with them during a planned visit. Because remember, funerals are rarely something you see coming in advance. Instead, everyone flies in for a day or two and disappears, promising to “get together again under different circumstances.” It’s tragic, the days spent just for a few meals, hugs, and quick end-of-life service.

In the past, you’d just have to swallow those holdups and journey to attend funerals anyway – and miss seeing those who can’t make it work. 

Today though, virtual memorial services allow you to gather without the headaches of traveling.

2. Virtual memorial services cut costs by 80%-90%

Business Insider reports that the rising cost of funeral services has outpaced nearly everything else we pay for. 

Source: Business Insider

Why? Well, because today’s on-site memorial services typically include…

• The staff and supplies required to produce the memorial services (usually a “funeral director”)
• Embalming services
• Rental/use of a hearse to transfer the remains from morgue to funeral home and/or place of worship
• Transfer again from memorial services to the burial site
• Dress and makeup for viewing and open-casket memorial services
• Facility rental fee for day(s) of the event(s)
• Service cars and drivers to transport next-of-kin and family members in funeral procession
• Printed programs to hand out to attendees
• Catered or prepared meal for reception
• Facility fee for reception area and tables/chairs
• Flowers
• Musicians 
• Pastor or Clergy compensation

Even with the most frugal, resourceful planning, the costs above still add up. The average on-site funeral today costs between $7,000 and $15,000.

Average Funeral Cost By State – source: World Population Review

By contrast, virtual memorial services should cost anywhere between $750 and $2,500. 

If anyone quotes you less than that, then beware: lower prices may be tempting, but your loved one’s memorial services are worth the excellence of a dedicated, expert team that cares. And if anyone quotes you more than that, then call the compassionate experts at Willowise now to get a more affordable plan.

As you think about saving money, think about your guests, too: the virtual option also saves the attendees a ton of time and money. Traveling to your event requires folks to pay for their flights, hotels, rental cars, meals out, and more. And since most travel for memorial services comes at unexpected times, funeral attendees don’t have the time it takes to price-shop and plan. This urgency increases costs even more as hotels and airlines increase prices for nearby dates. 

All of this adds up to a tremendous, often unplanned, cost to the attendees.

3. Virtual memorial services allow more varied memories and connections

Eliminating travel hassles and cutting your funeral budget by over 80% may sound nice, but that’s only the beginning. 

There’s nothing – nothing – quite like meeting people from far-flung corners of your loved one’s influence and realizing what an impact they really made while they were among us. Of course, we’re referring to all the faces you’ll see and stories you’ll hear if you choose virtual memorial services instead of traditional, in-person funerals.

Pastor Andrew Ball from Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle in Canada told CBC reporters that he’s seen virtual memorial services bring together people from all over the world. “We actually had one family member who is living in China read a scripture,” he said. 

At that online funeral gathering, a number of other friends and family members were able to reach out to the Chinese connection and swap stories about their relationship with the deceased.

4. Virtual memorial services let you host unlimited attendees

Imagine the above scenario – times ten. People love to connect. And we’ve heard it many times: out of a tragic loss come precious new relationships. 

The problem is, there’s no local building large enough to host every single person who wishes to attend an in-person funeral. That’s why, sadly, it’s a logistical relief when many folks can’t travel to be there. In fact, funeral directors count on this to keep gatherings to a manageable number.

But what if everyone could be there? Virtual memorial services include every possibility. Without a physical space (and physical bodies consuming that space), there’s truly no limit to the number of people who are able to attend.

5. Virtual memorial services help you capture memories digitally and preserve them forever

If you’ve lost someone, you know firsthand how precious every story and picture is. Memories flood in from all over, and you know you’re not seeing them all. Whether they’re shared on a social site where you’re not a member or swapped in person spontaneously while you’re not around, some are bound to slip through the cracks, never to be enjoyed by the loved ones of the deceased. 

But online memorial services answer that problem. When you have a central hub for people to bring their thoughts and memories, far fewer escape your knowledge. And when the dust settles, you can revisit these memories again and again like a grave site where your loved one’s legacy is preserved.

6. Virtual memorial services’ guest books can continually be added and reviewed

A few weeks after losing someone, you’ll notice folks are checking in on you less frequently. This is, of course, just part of life. But it can feel extra tragic to those of us left behind. We’re still grieving and remembering.  

So when another story or photo or video arrives in your event’s guest book, the gift is extra special. Because as folks move on, random memories always arise. Having a place for people to continually add remembrances comforts both them and you.

Without a repository, these random gifts won’t be shared, won’t be saved, won’t even make their way to you.

7. Virtual memorial services are recorded for you to view on-demand

One of the most common regrets people have about this whirlwind of a time is the inability to be present. The mental and emotional stress of having just lost a precious loved one as well as the added task of organizing an event prevents us from soaking in the end-of-life ceremony the way we want to.  

Thankfully, virtual memorial services can be revisited time and time again. Each time you watch – whether on a birthday, anniversary, or even at random times of grief – you’re sure to catch something you had missed before. Online memorial services are like a gift that keeps on giving.

These 7 benefits of virtual memorial services and funerals are just a few reasons why a virtual gathering might make the most sense for you and your loved ones. Contact the Willowise team to discuss even more benefits to gathering virtually.

“My dad’s tribute page is something I’ll revisit and share with others until the day I join him in Heaven.”
– Bethany Johnson

As humans, for millennia we’ve used headstones to memorialize those we’ve lost. The practice helps us to…

• Integrate and process the loss
• Enable our grief and other emotions
• Bond with others who knew our loved one
• Honor and preserve their legacy
• Describe our loved ones to people who had never met them
  

These needs will never change. But what has changed – and will continue to – is how we memorialize our loved ones. The traditional cemetery headstone is fading (often literally) while the online tribute page gains sacred ground. The tribute page is the headstone of the future.

What is a tribute page?

A tribute page is an online memorial website where people gather virtually to celebrate, honor, and remember a loved one and the legacy they left. Here, friends and family can share stories, photos, and memories as well as support and comfort for one another. 

A tribute page is more than that, though. It’s also an information hub, housing details about the memorial service, the obituary, and ways to support the immediate family of the deceased.

And finally, a tribute page is a place to go when the dust has settled and the loss morphs into a permanent part of life. Birthdays, anniversaries, favorite holidays, and even those random emotional days are perfect times to “go visit” your loved one. 

Cemetery headstones are concrete, but a tribute page is comprehensive.

Recall the reasons people memorialize those who have passed: 

• We do it to integrate and process the loss. Acknowledging this massive event – a loss of life – helps us all recognize the magnitude and power of life… and death. But a headstone is a physical reminder that stays in one spot. A memorial website or tribute page goes wherever you go. Your loved one’s memorial website or tribute page is as close to you as a browser tab on your mobile phone.

• We do it to enable our grief and other emotions. Experts at Mental Health America say that to grieve properly, you should express your bereavement when it hits you. We all know that grief never “hits” when you’re near your loved one’s resting place (and headstone). When those feelings come, you can pull up your loved one’s tribute page to express feelings physically, like crying or talking. New research shows that this can help your mental and emotional health.

• We do it to bond with others who knew our loved one. Another limitation of the traditional grave site and headstone is that when you visit your loved one’s final resting place, you’re usually alone or with only a few close family members. A tribute page or memorial website lets you gather with others who also admired your loved one – in whatever capacity. In fact, we often hear that people meet one another at their loved one’s tribute page, connecting across circles that never otherwise had a chance to form.

• We do it to honor and preserve their legacy. Many headstones include a short quote or phrase that embodies the deceased’s philosophy. At most, you have a couple lines to capture a whole life worth of opinions, expressions, and insights that the departed would want to leave behind. With a tribute page or memorial website, you have unlimited space to devote to their legacy. Now that our generation has tasted this freedom, surviving loved ones will never again be satisfied with the one or two lines afforded on traditional headstones.

• We do it to describe them to people who had never met them. Your loved one’s legacy is one aspect of who your loved one was, yes. But there’s also their laugh, their taste in music, their love for their pets, their travels, their habits, and other lovable quirks you want to share. As an example, here’s one way to consider it: No one has ever introduced a new friend to their parent’s gravestone. For that, our generation is turning to tribute pages or memorial websites.

The tribute page is the headstone of the future.

For thousands of years, we’ve used headstones and grave markers to honor those who have departed this life. The visuals have always commemorated a life lived, so that survivors can process their emotions and comfort one another. Gravestones are a tangible – and theoretically, permanent – symbol of the deceased.

But for the first time, gravestones are insufficient for all those purposes. They often require an effort to visit, the experience is usually a lonely one, and the cold, hard stone can’t quite convey all that your loved one meant to you and others. Tribute pages for deceased loved ones let you truly honor, truly memorialize, and truly remember someone in the way they – and you – deserve.

To learn how to build your own tribute page (or to let us do it for you), contact the compassionate team at Willowise today.