hestiaIdeas for a farewell
Letting people speak
An open microphone, or a pause long enough that someone fills it. It takes longer than anyone plans for, and almost every family afterwards says the unplanned part was the best of it.
How it can look
- Three people asked in advance, then the floor opened to anyone.
- No speeches at all, and conversation over food instead.
- Written notes, read aloud by one person, for families where speaking is hard.
Words you can use with a funeral director
We would like to leave time for people to speak, and it may run long. How much time do we have in the room altogether?
This sits with
Other ideas families have used
- Making room for childrenChildren usually manage funerals better than adults expect, provided someone has told them…
- A table of their lifeA long table, and the things they actually touched. Reading glasses, a tool from the shed,…
- Music that was actually theirsNot what is usually played, but what they really listened to. The song from the kitchen…