Secular Readings for a Funeral Service

Quick Links for Secular Readings: General Selections | Spouse | Child | Unexpected Death | Suicide | Long Illness Secular Readings for Funerals — General Selections Out of Solitude



Poetry Readings for a Funeral Service

Quick Links to Selected Poems: General Selections | Spouse | Parent | Child | Unexpected Death | Long Illness | African American | American Indian | Military Remember


Laid to Rest on Her Own Acreage

A couple years back I met a group of gentle people at their favorite pub for a funeral arrangement. Wanda’s friends were stumped that I couldn’t list Wanderer as her occupation, and The Earth as the accompanying industry on her death certificate. After all, this is what she was and what she did. Her friends […]


Working with a Funeral Director: Arrangement Conferences

After a death has occurred there are many decisions to be made and details to be organized. The time set aside to accomplish these things is called the arrangement conference. Depending on the complexity or amount of details needed, this could take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours. Being prepared and knowing what to expect can greatly reduce confusion and stress during this time.




TV Body Count Study

TV to Die For: A Ranking of TV Shows by Dead Bodies Is death entertaining? Is our popular culture obsessed with death? How do portrayals of death affect the popularity of entertainment programs? Who is most likely to be drawn to death-oriented programs?



Steve Jobs Eulogy

At his memorial service at the Memorial Church of Stanford University (October 16, 2011) I grew up as an only child, with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from Syria, I imagined he looked like Omar Sharif. I hoped he would be rich and kind and would come into our lives (and our not yet furnished apartment) and help us. Later, after I’d met my father, I tried to believe he’d changed his number and left no forwarding address because he was an idealistic revolutionary, plotting a new world for the Arab people.


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