Funerals

[sherrardk]

Just watching Coronation Street and someone has a copy of Jack's funeral service with Jack's photo on the front. At both my mother and grandfather's funerals recently they had their photos on the service sheets too. I thought this must be a weird South Wales thing. How long has this been common practice and why has it become popular (I don't like it personally).

[chas2008]

PCs with colour printers & scanners etc. justs makes it so easy to produce & print service sheets, quite a common practice these days.

[joannie10]

first saw it for a friend of a friends funeral about 2 years ago (I am in Scotland) and then it was done for my aunts funeral a year ago - I am not too sure of it either, can 't decide whether I like or not but I suppose now thinking about it its whatever helps the family.

[mike11111]

I suppose it's not much different from seeing a photograph alongside an obituary in a newspaper. Over the past thirty years I've noticed an increasing tendency to see photgraphs on gravestones. Not keen on it myself, but I suppose it's whatever helps the family.

[coccinelle]

The family did this for Mam's funeral. Some who hadn't seen that done before thought it was nice to look at the photo during the service and remember the person physically and for people in the village who didn't have a photo of her could always keep this in her memory.
I'm not keen on seeing a photo though on a gravestone as graveyards are public places so lots of people go by.

[honky-tonk]

They were certainly doing the service sheets as far back as 20 years ago arranged by the funeral directors.

[Mully79]

Hi Sherrard
I'm a designer for a printer in Manchester. We've had a few local residents pop in over the years with this request, to add a photo onto the service sheet / booklet. So I don't think it's specific to any region. However, we get a wide range of clients, from multi-millionaires to very low income households - and it is always the lower/working class folk who ask for this service. Don't know why!

[mike11111]

You raise a very interesting point, Mully. I have a few theories, but as they might inadvertently cause offence or distress to the recently bereaved I will not expound them.
Am I the only one who finds floral tributes in hearses arranged into names or symbols slightly off-putting?