Two Ways To Be Involved In Family Funerals When You Cannot Personally Attend

Blog

Living overseas away from your family can be hard at times, but it is at its hardest when a loved one passes away in your home country. Timing and finances may dictate you just do not have the resources to return to your homeland to attend the funeral, so how can you pay your respects to the deceased when you are so far away? Here are two ways you can be involved in the funeral when you cannot personally be there.

Share Your Memories

While you can't personally be part of a service, you can still write a eulogy for the deceased that a family member or friend can read at the funeral on your behalf. There are a number of different ways you can share your thoughts, including these:

  • Write down a few of your favourite memories, and remember that a funeral is a time to celebrate their life so you can use tasteful humour in your notes.
  • Share a story about a favourite poem or song that you and the deceased shared.
  • If the funeral home has the capacity to display digital photos during the service, put together a small presentation of your favourite images of you and the deceased. 

There are lots of little ways you can share your memories with the other funeral attendees, so ask someone who is going if they can present on your behalf so your thoughts can be part of the service too.

Web Streaming Of Service

Another way you could be a part of the service when you cannot physically attend is to discuss a web streaming of the service with the funeral home. With the evolution of technology, web streaming of funerals is not as rare as you may think.

Generally, the funeral home will have a camera discreetly located in the service area that will beam the video out on a live feed. They provide a link to the service on their website and provide a password to the family that can be shared with those wanting to view the service.

If the funeral home does not offer this option, you could ask a family friend to stream the service to you on a mobile device. However, you must discuss this with the family organizing the funeral in advance so that it is not seen to be invasive or macabre.

It is an unfortunate fact of life that you cannot always be in two places at once, but you don't have to completely miss saying your goodbyes just because you cannot physically be there. Speak to the funeral director about how you can be involved in the funeral from overseas, and then you can still pay your respects from thousands of kilometres away.

Share

8 October 2015

Tips for Writing and Organising Meaningful Funerals

Welcome to my blog. My name is Molly, and a few years ago, I lost my husband to heart disease. He had only just turned fifty, and it wasn't anything we were expecting. Through my intense grief, I had to host and organise a funeral. I wanted to include religious elements from our pasts, but I also wanted to be true to the non-religious but spiritual beliefs of my husband. I think many people are in the same position, and if you are, I want to help you. This blog focuses on making funerals meaningful. It provides tips, ideas, facts and more. I hope it inspires you.