At Foothill Funeral in Glendora, California, we are committed to helping families make informed choices about their end-of-life planning. As we recently celebrated Earth Day, we wanted to take a moment to discuss the importance of choosing environmentally friendly options for your final arrangements. In this post you’ll read about how to “go green.”
Category: Living Funerals
The Importance of Closure
Nothing is as final as death. Unfortunately, however, grieving family members and friends often struggle to come to grips with the finality of their loved one’s passing. Left to pick up the pieces and find the strength to move on, many fail to face the permanent nature of their loss. Denial is, after all, the first of the five stages of grief.
We help families manage this emotion is by offering to provide closure in several different forms:
Be Thankful You Aren’t Dead
People routinely discuss the many reasons we all have to be grateful each Thanksgiving season. Since our profession places us around death day in, day out, the main reason seems obvious to us. The thing you should most be thankful for? You are alive! But what about if you have suffered the death of a loved one this year? Are you finding it difficult to focus on what you have rather than what you lost?
Here is our Thanksgiving gift to you – designed to remind you of the good things to focus on as you gather around the table.
- Be thankful you are healthy. Even if you struggle with illness or disability, focus on the parts of your body that work well. When you’re dead, nothing will work.
- Be thankful for people you love and have loved over the years. While time and distance may have impacted your relationships, remember the good instead of focusing on the bad. And we are sincerely sorry if you did lose someone you love this year. Loss is hard, especially during the holidays.
- Be thankful you have a job, if you do. Or, if you don’t, be happy that you have free time to relax until you are able (or invited) to work. If you’re reading this blog post, you obviously have time to relax. Let’s face it; this isn’t required reading. So, enjoy.
- Be grateful for community. We hope you are part of something bigger than yourself. A neighborhood, friends, church group, family. While you may find lots of reasons for complaining, be glad you have relationships to grumble about.
- Be thankful you live in a free country. Not to get political on Thanksgiving. But whatever you think about America, things could be worse. You could live in a communist country or a depressed Third World nation. If you want to make a change, step up!
- Be thankful for entertainment. Do you know how many television channels there used to be? Four! And if the president was on, your night was shot. In America, we have numerous ways to kill time. Be glad for the variety of choice.
- Be grateful for music. And be glad you live in a time when you don’t have to buy an expensive two-sided LP because you liked one song. You literally have almost limited options for music downloads circa 2018. Enjoy.
- Be thankful you can read. Or, if someone else is reading this to you, be grateful you know someone else who can read who is willing to waste his or her time reading you a funeral blog about thankfulness.
- Be thankful for laughter. Whoever “they” are, they are right. It truly is the best medicine.
- Be thankful you’re alive. Believe us; not everyone is.
About Foothill Funeral & Cremation
Although we jest, we take death very seriously. We know your loved one was very important to you. And we value the opportunity to celebrate his or her life or help you pre-plan a service for yourself. Feel free to contact us now to pre-plan your own memorial or at your time of need (626) 335-0615. Or, if you prefer, reach us by email or drop by our Glendora showroom. Our relationship with United Methodist Church is the perfect place for mourners to host funerals and memorials. You’ll love the grandiose yet intimate setting.
We also specialize in helping with burial arrangements. And we proudly serve the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Basin, Orange County and the Inland Empire. Finally, working in the mortuary industry since 1996, our reputation is one of quality, sincerity and trust. Please allow us to help you at your time of need or in the future. Call today (626) 335-0615 or contact us via email.
10 Top Funniest Movie Scenes about Death
We aren’t your run-of-the mill funeral home. While we excel at providing traditional services such as embalming, cremation, memorials and burials, we also embrace trends like bio-cremation and living funerals. Over 30 years of experience in the funeral industry has made us comfortable around death. In fact, you might be surprised to learn that while meeting with families to help prepare for memorials and burials, we don’t just shed tears. Quite often in the mortuary, together with families, we laugh while recalling joyous moments in their loved one’s lives. These 10 movie clips about funny funerals remind you that it’s okay to laugh at death:
- Weekend at Bernie’s – While this movie could accurately be described as irreverent, it has a few highlights. So, we include it despite that it’s highly inaccurate from a scientific standpoint. Still, it offers a few laughs and a pretty funny funeral scene.
- Grownups – Whether you’re a fan of Rob Schneider or not, you will likely laugh during the funeral of the main characters’ middle school coach. But warning, Schneider’s rendition of Ava Maria could impact your likelihood of choosing it as music for a memorial.
- Grownups – This isn’t a mistake. We include two clips from this movie because both do a great job of reminding us that it’s okay to laugh even as you grieve. In this scene, friends gather to sprinkle their coach’s ashes. Chaos ensues.
- The Big Chill – In this 80’s classic, a group of friends gathers to mourn the death of their long-time friend. This scene isn’t funny. But we like it because it demonstrates the importance of celebrating even as you grieve.
- Vacation – Beverly D’Angelo gives an irreverent rain-soaked eulogy after her grandmother dies while the family is traveling to Wally World during their summer vacation.
Four Weddings & A Funeral – Showcased in a funny movie is a heart-wrenching funeral scene. So, before you watch, know that while the rest of Four Weddings & a Funeral is hilarious, but this scene could make you cry. And that’s okay, too.
- Due Date – This cross-country travel-buddy movie makes light of everything, including the ash sprinkling at the Grand Canyon. (This is not an endorsement of using a landmark for disposing ashes.)
Have you seen Due Date? Enough said.
- The Big Lebowski – John Goodman attempts to sprinkle their bowling friend, (Donny)’s ashes over the Pacific Ocean but ends up coating his friend, played by Jeff Bridges. (Warning – this clip contains colorful language.)
- Man on the Moon – Jim Carrey’s portrayal of the late comedian, Andy Kaufman, leading a singalong at his own memorial service is simultaneously light-hearted and poignant.
- Zoolander – You might scratch your head at this entry. But the main character’s gasoline fight with his daft male model friends earns a place on our top 10 not only out of absurdity but also because of Ben Stiller’s pronunciation of the word Eulogy.
About Foothill Funeral & Cremation
Would you prefer a traditional service or would you like to use your memorial to laugh with the ones you leave behind? Either way, give us a call (626) 335-0615 or drop by our Glendora showroom. In Covina, our relationship with Sacred Heart Chapel is the perfect place for mourners to host funerals and memorial services in a grandiose yet intimate setting. We proudly serve the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Basin, Orange County and the Inland Empire. Working in the mortuary industry since 1996, we have worked hard to build a reputation of quality, sincerity and trust. Please allow us to help you at your time of need or in the future. Call today (626) 335-0615 or drop by our showroom.
Putting the Fun in Funeral?
As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Whatever manner you choose to handle your tax bill, eventually, you will face death. We know this to be true, since we deal with death and dying each day as funeral home directors. But since death is inevitable, why do we, as a culture, keep it hidden in the shadows, discussing memorial services and burial choices only when we are absolutely forced to do so when someone you love dies? After all, 2018 is nearly here. It’s the 21st Century. Isn’t it time for a different, more enlightened approach?
We think so. After all, you can’t spell “funeral” without “fun.” We don’t mean to be flippant. And we aren’t suggesting that death is not a serious business. We understand how much it hurts when a close family member or friend dies. But while you’re alive, you can turn the tables on death by pre-planning your funeral. Doing so will encourage the ones you love to move on with their lives by celebrating the relationship you had with them before you passed rather than sadly and somberly going through the motions. If you’re game, there are lots of great ways to do this.
Here are just a few:
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In living color
While planning a fun funeral is a little out of the box, you won’t be too “out there” if start out with wardrobe specifications. In your pre-plan, you can request mourners to dress in festive colors instead of the “go-to” black. Bright colors encourage celebration over depression. And if it helps the ones you leave behind, why should you care? You won’t be there anyway.
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Let them eat cake
While receptions with food follow most memorial services, few memorial services incorporate snacks. But you can break the mold! While pre-planning, you could specify the food you would like to provide and send a humorous message from beyond the grave, spelled out in royal icing. In fact, one person capitalized on the idea by hiring a baker to create a life-size version of him in a coffin, entirely out of cake!
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Stream it
In your pre-plan, you could leave usernames and passwords for your social media accounts, with instructions for the service and reception to be live-tweeted or turned into an Instagram Story. More than just a way to make light of the absurdity of doing so, this can serve as a great way to include mourners who were unable to make it to the event.
About Foothill Funeral & Cremation
Would you prefer a traditional service or would you like to use your memorial to laugh with the ones you leave behind? Either way, give us a call (626) 335-0615 or drop by our Glendora showroom. In Covina, our relationship with Sacred Heart Chapel is the perfect place for mourners to host funerals and memorial services in a grandiose yet intimate setting. We proudly serve the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Basin, Orange County and the Inland Empire. Working in the mortuary industry since 1996, we have worked hard to build a reputation of quality, sincerity and trust. Please allow us to help you at your time of need or in the future. Call today (626) 335-0615 or drop by our showroom.