Memorial Service Ideas

Memorial Float Trip for Chase Savage

October 26, 2012 urngarden.com

Earlier this summer, my friend Chelsie took part in a float trip to celebrate the life of her brother on the Niangua River. She was kind enough to share the experience for other families that might be looking for a way to create a memorial.

Chase Alan Savage

Born to Neal Savage and Georgie Wooldridge in Lebanon, Mo. Chase was the first child and grandchild. He was very loved and very spoiled. Chase had a unique charisma about him and was very adventurous. His kindness drew an array of long lasting friendships from old to young. He loved the outdoors and loved his family. Most of his summers were spent at the river floating and hanging out with good friends. Chase finally found his niche traveling and doing dent repair. Following a storm in Arizona on November 20, 2010 Chase had a fatal car accident and died at age 27.

How long have you been doing the float trip? Is it an annual event?
We have done it two years and it is annual.

How did this idea come about?
Chase was an active part of the One Eyed Willies Campground on the Niangua River. Lifelong family friend, Brian Wilson is the owner and came up with the idea to get Chase’s friends together to remember his life and raise money for charity with a dinner, bonfire, and music after the float. 50-100 people turned out. We put the event on Facebook and took reservations and t-shirt orders. We provided the main course for dinner and attendees brought a side dish. Matt Johnson from Digit Silvers in Lebanon did our shirts.

Money raised from the float goes to different charities in honor of Chase. The Chase Savage Memorial Fund has donated to The Humane Society, Strong Kids, Hough Cemetery, and helps families in need during the holidays.

Thanks Chelsie!

Opal Fire in October

October 22, 2012 urngarden.com

Raw Opal Stone — Opal Specimen from the Willems Miner Collection

This weekend was the peak of fall color here in the Ozarks. We’ve got a golden glow and the fading light can mess with your mood. Opals are October’s birth stone and is nature’s prescription to Zoloft with supposed healing powers for depression. Almost all the opals are mined in Australia and an Aborigine legend has it that the stone originated in a rainbow. They also associate the Opal with peace and love.

Camo Urns for the Hunter

October 14, 2012 urngarden.com

We recently served a family who wanted to create a cremation memorial that really captured the essence of their husband and father. He was a sportsman, lived in a rural area and loved the outdoors. Hunting and fishing was a religious experience. Originally, the widow inquired about a bronze eagle urn, she liked this urn because her husband had an eagle tattoo on his chest. But what she really wanted was an urn with the image of a deer on it. The area they live in is loaded with deer and her husband always looked forward to deer season.

This bronze deer urn sculpture was more in line with what she had in mind.Hi, just wanted to let you know the deer urn did arrive and it is beautiful, I DO love it! I wanted to thank you again. Lori C., Ohio

The deer urn was a custom piece that took a couple of weeks to produce. The timeline and budget may not suit the families that need an urn shipped quicker, but if you have the luxury of time, it’s worth the wait.

Inspired by these families that want to honor the outdoorsman, we launched a collection of hunting and fishing urns to pay tribute.

We carry a camouflage line of urns that would work as a memorial for a hunter or fisherman.

Camo patterns in a brushy woodland perfect for game hunters. These are metal urns, that are dipped using the water transfer process, the same style used in camo coating ATV’s, and vehicles. The woodland pattern comes in a small size for sharing the ashes or could be used for a pet. Secured with a threaded lid on the top.

For duck or other water fowl enthusiasts, this sunset scene is beautiful and can be personalized with laser engraving.

Fishing themed urns are a favorite with families that are paying tribute to an angler. This classic vase style urn is professionally painted with tough metallic paint and features a trophy bass taking the bait and putting up a fierce fight. Fits nicely in a niche at the cemetery or suitable for home display. Our engravers can add names and dates if you desire.

Depending on your taste and style, there are many options to commemorate the life of your favorite sportsman. We can help.

The Brief Life of Khighla Parks

October 13, 2012 urngarden.com

The memorial service for 15 year old Khighla Parks (pronounced Kyla) was held in our area this week. Khighla was loved in her community and went missing for several days and her body was found by fisherman in Truman Lake. Khighla loved horses and was buried in the cemetery where she used to go for a quiet moment to talk to God.

A Celebration of Life ceremony was held and a horse drawn wagon delivered her casket to the cemetery where she was laid to rest. “I don’t believe this is goodbye,” said the Rev. Scotty Killingsworth. “I believe this is good night, so long, see you later.”

A couple of observations about the media coverage. Once again the word “funeral” was never mentioned by any of the outlets covering the event. I understand that the television stations have to make a dollar, but monetizing the video clip of the funeral with advertising seems inappropriate. In fact, the only time I can remember that a news video on one particular station did not have an ad attached to it was for a memorial created for the Joplin tornado victims.

Regardless, we’re sending out prayers to the family and hope law enforcement can resolve the many questions and bring peace to the family.

Celebration of Life Is the New Funeral

September 28, 2012 urngarden.com

In addition to the back yard memorial service last weekend for my friend Don, another service was held at one of the local churches for a father and his three children. The Lambert’s and a family friend, Robin Melton were killed in a plane crash returning from a KC Royal’s ball game. The loss rocked the community. A Celebration of Life unfolded in the church with plenty of photos and flowers. Several of the children’s teachers, friends, and family members spoke and the theme was clear: Make Every Moment Count.

Ms. Melton’s service was held in a conference room at Bass Pro Shops and was open to the public, with a separate visitation scheduled the next day at the funeral home and a grave site service the following day. Both Mr. Lambert and Ms. Melton were leaders in the community and larger venues were needed to accommodate the mourners.

In all the media coverage of these events, the word funeral was never mentioned. Actually, the only time the word appeared was if the funeral home was mentioned. Is the word “funeral” on the way to becoming an old-world term? Even the word “mourners” is starting to sound archaic and contradicts the Celebrate Life concept.