Page A8 november 2023 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Section A 1-888-792-9315 • mymortuarycooler.com Scan QR for our website Cots not included MODEL # TR3 Triple Cot Roll-In Mortuary Cooler AMC N W FAST SHIPPING AVAILABLE ON SELECT PRODUCTS Sacred Custom Statues Affordable • Custom • Lifesized Marble only $9,750 Bronze $16,750 For the Patron Saint you’ve been searching for Contact: Gregory Cave │ caveco33@aol.com 516-456-3663 │ www.statuemaker.us By Linda Findlay Aftercare face was beautiful, her one tiny perfect hand was placed on her chest on top of the silk christening outfit we had bought for her. She looked like an angel. She had a full round tiny face, beautiful perfect tiny nose and full pink lips. Her dark hair perfectly combed, and her silk hat carefully placed. Our funeral director prepared her beautifully so we could invite family to calling hours and a viewing. My sweet baby only had her mother and father view her. Buy the advice from my father… his exact words were, “You can’t put people through that!” He didn’t know any better. But I obeyed! Nobody saw our sweet baby but us. I can remember, as though it were yesterday, walking into that viewing room. She was the most beautiful tiny baby I had ever seen. Tears and emotions burst out of me. With the help of my funeral director and my husband, I approached the tiny casket and knelt before her. I could see her, I could touch her. I could smell her and kiss on her. I had not seen her after she was born. It was my only moments in time that I would ever have with her again. Whether my life was to be long or short, being in that room with my baby was sacred! My funeral director made that time and space for me and my husband to see her and touch her. We loved on her and stared at her for the first and last time. Every part of me remembers that day as though it were today. I was beyond grateful. I was beyond blessed. I was and still am beyond thankful. As I am writing this, I am on a beautiful cruise ship docked at the beautiful island of St Amelia. I am overlooking the beautiful ocean and experiencing Gods great creations. Who is on this ship is a group of people who have joined us on a grief cruise. I created the grief cruise in 2015. As our funeral director had created that time and space for us to honor and love on our daughter, I have created a space and time for grieving famines to come together and do the same. For thirty-two years my journey and my path has been and will continue to be for the rest of my life, one of service to others who have lost a loved one to death. Your life, my beloved funeral directors, has been dedicated to serving families in a time in their lives when there is no other person, except a funeral director, who takes our loved ones into their care! Not only do you take our loved ones in your care. You take all of us who grieve their loss into your care. Your life work is a true testament of how God puts those people in our paths to care for us and walk with us during a time that we can’t walk alone. It has been and will continue to be my greatest blessing to work with grieving families. I am honored to work with and know the most caring compassionate human beings on the face of this earth- my beloved funeral directors! My funeral director came to the hospital and cared for our Each human being who is conceived lives for a predetermined time as planned by our creator. That is my belief. The fact is that human life ends at some point after it begins. Every single human life is connected to another human being, beginning with a mother. No matter how long or short a life is sustained, a human bond has formed. When that life ends, loss has occurred, and another human being is affected. We are human with a brain and body that feels! We are created that way. Losing a loved one is a certainty for each and every one of us at some point in our lives. Dying is a guarantee for all of us. When a loved one dies, a bond is broken. What is left is grief. Grief is a universal experience. Every single person on this earth experiences grief. Why then, does society not know how to support our fellow mankind? During the span of over 30 years, I have been a witness to the pain of loss. The conversations I have with grieving families today, are the same exact conversations I had over 32 years ago. People are hurting, nobody understands, nobody cares, life goes on, expectations of the bereaved to be over their loss are too great. People grieve for a much longer time than anyone would imagine. We never forget our loved ones or the love we have for them, none of us. That is a fact! I started working with grieving families in 1990. One year after I lost my newborn baby. After my loss, I felt alone, afraid, confused, deeply and excruciatingly sad. I felt lost with no hope or desire to live. There was a period of time that I simply wanted to close my eyes and die. It was at the very beginning of my grief journey that I had my first personal experience with a funeral director. He was called to take care of my newborn baby. He promised me she would be in good hands. All I knew was I gave my 100 percent trust to a complete stranger, the task of caring for my baby! Despite my grief I was beyond grateful that she was taken care of. When we were told we needed to call a funeral home, my high jacked grief brain with a body that had just undergone major abdominal surgery and begun releasing all the hormones of a post pregnancy mother, in emotional and physical pain, did not understand why we needed to call a funeral home. That is called shock and disbelief. Once that call was made our funeral director knew what to do. He took our baby into his care until I was physically able to get to her. I will be forever thankful for the positive and caring experience I had with our funeral director. He cared for our baby. He dressed her so beautifully and wrapped her in the crocheted blanket that I had begun to create for her. Her Linda Findlay is the founder of Mourning Discoveries, Grief Support Services. She is a 29-year career Aftercare Coordinator, a published author, and an advocate for bereaved families. She is the founder and co-creator of The Grief Cruises. Linda can be reached at 315-725-6132 or Lf6643@yahoo.com. Visit www.mourningdiscoveries.com, www.thegriefcruises.com or www.internationalgriefinstitute.com. FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.NomisPublications.com Monthly Columnsonline at baby up to the time that she was laid to rest over my grandmother’s grave in a beautiful cemetery, high on a hill, overlooking a beautiful city! My life’s work and my daughter’s legacy began that sunny humid day in September of 1989. Spanning four decades, I have had the honor and privilege of supporting well over 200,000 families through my 300 funeral homes in 25 states and counting. It is because of you that all these families received continued care through the aftercare programs you have allowed me to provide. I am honored and grateful beyond measure. I know what grieving families need and I will continue walking on my path! But as all things come to an end, I will no longer be writing for Nomis Publications. I can’t count the years that I have showed up here monthly. It has been many. I thank Nomis Publications and especially Peggy who has given me the space to share my life work in my role as an aftercare coordinator. I hope what I have shared has been helpful and useful to you. I am not going anywhere but to continue my work. Please know that you are all very special people! Just like myself you have helped countless families and you have made a difference. In closing, I wanted to share with you that I am going to send this article to the funeral director who took care of our daughter and myself so many years ago. I feel it’s a fitting ending to writing for Nomis Publications. I will always to be available, for as long as I walk this earth, to any funeral director. Thank you for reading my articles and thank you for all you do in your life work. –Linda Findlay Aubrie Marie Findlay’s grave stone in a cemetery in Utica, NY. My grandsons’ foot print is on the headstone. It’s the first time we brought him to the cemetery and the first time I realized Aubrie is an Aunt. It was bitter sweet. Rollings Funeral Service Announces Bob Page as New Chief Operating Officer PEACHTREE CITY,GA— Rollings Funeral Service has recently announced that Bob Page will be joining the company in the newly created role of chief operating officer. In this new position, Page will be overseeing all operations of the company in addition to acting as an extra layer of support to all our regional managers and their individual locations. “Over the last 20 years, I have worn many hats: CEO, CFO, COO, and president to name a few. As our company has grown though, I’ve realized that increasing our leadership team to divide up these roles is needed to ensure our continued strength and service levels,” said president and CEO Greg Rollings. “Bob has tremendous operating and funeral experience, having held senior leadership positions at SCI, Northstar, StoneMor and Foundation Partners and I look forward to the value, support, and efficiency he’ll bring to our company,” Rollings continued. Page brings with him decades of experience in funeral service and operations management. Before joining Rollings Funeral Service in September, Page spent the last four years with StoneMor Partners, most recently serving as their senior vice president, operations and support. Prior to his time with StoneMor Partners, Page served as a vice president with Foundation Partners Group. “Having watched Rollings Funeral Service grow over the last two decades, it’s exciting to join a company that’s so wellrespected in our industry. I view my role as a facilitator and enabler and I plan to build on the hard work of Greg and Debbie,” said Page. He also mentioned that it’s his goal to help develop systems, processes, and procedures that will give each location in Rollings Funeral Service more time to better serve their families. With over 80 locations, Rollings Funeral Service is one of the largest private funeral homeowners in the eastern United States. With each of their firms operated on the local level, their managers work directly with Rollings Funeral Service to establish budgets, pricing, and best practices. They also pride themselves on being a great alternative to selling to a publicly traded company and they continue to search for firms that will be a great fit for their growing family funeral of funeral homes. Bob Page Carriage Services Confirms Continuation of Review of Strategic Alternatives HOUSTON,TX— Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE: CSV) confirmed that, as noted in its press release issued on June 29th, Carriage’s Board of Directors continues its process to review strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value. The company does not intend to comment further unless and until there is an actionable matter that requires announcement. Carriage Services is a leading provider of funeral and cemetery services and merchandise in the United States. Carriage operates 171 funeral homes in 26 states and 32 cemeteries in 11 states. For more information, visit www.carriageservices.com.
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