Memorialization Memorialization Kristine Sowles, office manager of Pray Funeral Home in Charlotte, Michigan, a 98-year-old, family-owned business, had similar observations. Even after restrictions were loosened, many people were uncomfortable attending gatherings, Sowles said. Memorial jewelry, including cremation jewelry containing a tiny amount of a loved one’s ashes, provides a way for family members or friends to share in a tangible reminder of the person they have lost. “We dealt with the same things that many funeral homes did,” Sowles said. “People had to make their arrangements remotely. Even as things calmed down, people were not comfortable coming in … or being around other people. That’s why Thumbies, and anything they could hold, touch … that made them feel closer to their loved one … that helped a lot. We call it the ‘touchpoint.’ We’ll see people that have the jewelry; they reach up around their neck and touch it.” Trevor Rapideau, a licensed funeral director and co-owner of the R.W. Walker Funeral Home in Plattsburgh, N.Y., said the changes necessitated by the pandemic have been “very drastic and very quick” and placed an additional burden on families to limit who can attend services. “How do you pick and choose?” he said. On a more positive note, he said the pandemic has forced the industry, like its clients, to think more creatively. “One of the most positive things I’ve pulled out of this is … we have been forced to think quickly on our feet to come up with new and innovative ways to celebrate the life of a family member,” Rapideau said. jewelry, are a “much more personal” reminder than traditional objects like prayer cards or guest register books, Rapideau noted. At the Bryan-Lee Funeral Home in Garner, North Carolina, Funeral Service Licensee Andy Barham said the pandemic has been a “jolt to the psyche” for the funeral industry, especially in the South where the concept of social distancing runs counter to a long tradition of warm and physical greetings. “In the South, that’s we do,” he said. “We gather, we love, we laugh, we cry; but most of all, we hug.” The absence of that social affection, he said, is likely driving an increase in purchases of things like memorial jewelry, elaborate urns or other memorial items. A cremation pendant containing a small portion of ashes (photo provided by Thumbies) “In my day-to-day meeting with families, are we seeing more of a need? Absolutely. Our sales of memorial jewelry, especially of the fingerprint nature, have easily doubled during the pandemic.” Among the memorial items growing in popularity, he said, are tribute blankets created with high-quality woven reproductions of photographs. There is also a local hospice that creates teddy bears from items of clothing, he said. Such items, along with thumbprint and cremation Thumbprint jewelry, Barham said, is a good example of an object that helps to fill an impossible void with something that’s tangible. “The idea that our loved one is no longer with us … when that loss is imposed on us, we start saying ‘What can I do to hang on to someone?’” www.ogr.org | The Independent® 9
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