The straightforward guide to honoring a parent who has passed.
Photo by Eli Solitas on Unsplash
It’s not easy losing a parent. Unfortunately, though, it is something that most people will go through in their life. One problem that many people experience after the loss of a parent is feeling as though they are forgetting about them, as they move on with their life.
If you have lost your parent, then you do need to forward, but at the same time, you shouldn’t forget about them. Honoring a parent who has passed is the best way to keep your memories of them alive.
Here is a guide to losing a parent who has passed away:
Building mausoleum
A mausoleum is a raised structure, where a person’s body is buried. Most people can only afford single-crypt mausoleums, which are freestanding but can hold only a single coffin. If the construction and installation of a cemetery mausoleum interest you, then you may also want to consider much larger structures. If you have the money, you can have a walk-in mausoleum built. Walk-in mausoleums are large and have doorways. Sometimes they are also called family crypts because they can hold multiple coffins.
Wearing jewelry
If your loved one wearing a specific piece of jewelry, then wearing it after their death can be a fantastic way of honoring them and remembering them. If your loved one was not into jewelry, or if another family member has taken the jewelry that they did wear, then you can have a piece of custom jewelry made up, ideally with a photographic pendant attached. Wearing a pendant that has a photograph of your loved one on it is a great way to remember them and keep them close to your heart.
Charitable donations
If there were any charities that your deceased parent supported, then why not continue to make charitable donations to them in their name? Making continued charitable donations will no doubt be what your loved one will have wanted. If you make enough donations, or if your donations are very large, the charity may even make your loved one a Fellow and write a little excerpt about them on their website. When making charitable donations in another person’s name you do need to make sure that the payment details are in yours so that nobody suspects fraud is taking place.
Supporting causes
If you do not have enough money to donate to charities your parent supported, then why not donate your time instead? Most charities allow people to volunteer with them. If you are going to volunteer and help a charity, then take some time to learn about it. Blindly donating time to a cause you know nothing about is a very bad idea. Another thing to consider is supporting a cause related to your parent, i.e., if they died from a specific disease, then donate your time to helping people who’re suffering from that disease or try and raise awareness about it.
Telling stories
Memories fade over time. A good way to keep your loved one’s memories alive is to tell people stories about them as much as you can. Then, the people you have told the stories to will remember them, even if you don’t. If you have children or grandchildren, then telling them stories about your parent will be a very effective way of telling them about their family history and connecting them to your parent. Writing stories down while they are fresh in your mind is a good way to ensure you do not forget them in the future.
Hanging photographs
Throughout your house, hang photographs of your loved one. Hanging up pictures of them is a way of honoring them and also remembering them. Again, memories fade over time. If you do not keep pictures of your parent around your house, then you could forget what they look like. It’s not uncommon for the elderly to forget their parent’s faces. Thanks to social media and modern technology, capturing and printing photos has never been easier. You should have no difficulty transferring photos from your phone to a printing service, and then having them delivered to your house.
Urn storage
A lot of people are choosing to be cremated nowadays. It is important that if your loved one has chosen to be cremated, even if you disagree with cremation, you honor their wishes after their passing and arrange it for them. One of the good things about cremation is that it allows you to keep your loved one with you all of the time. You can store their ashes in an urn, which you can take home with you, and put on the mantlepiece. You could even put some of their ashes inside a vial and carry it around with you on a necklace.
Religious shrine
If you are religious or interested in spirituality, then you could build a shrine. The construction (and then subsequent use of) a shrine to honor a dead parent is something that’s very common in Asia, but not so much in Europe. Part of the reason for this is that Europe is predominantly Christian, and the building of shrines is not something that’s common among Christians. Even so, building a shrine for your loved one can be a highly effective way of honoring them and keeping their memory alive.
Visiting cemetery
Finally, if you bury your loved one in a cemetery, then make sure that you visit them often. After a person is buried, it is very common for their family to stop coming over time. Then, gradually, their grave deteriorates, weeds grow, and people move on. When your parent dies, make sure that you make a habit of going to their grave at least once a week. Going to your parent’s grave, sitting beside it, and talking to them is a good way to keep their memory alive, and most importantly of all, to honor them.
If your parent has died, then you no doubt want to honor their memory. Doing that can be very difficult, especially if you have never lost a parent or loved one. Thankfully though, this post’s guidance can help you out, so give each point serious consideration and thought.