When we lose a loved one, it is natural to have the desire to highlight the life that they lived. There are a variety of ways to highlight their life before and during the funeral service. One way is to write an obituary and publish it in the local newspaper. This gives notification to those in the community who knew the deceased, of their death and let them know when and where the funeral service will be held.

Another great way to highlight a loved one’s life is to create a funeral program. This is an essential element for the funeral service because it is distributed to all attendees. Most people will keep this program for quite a long time in remembrance of the deceased. Often bereaved family members will keep it within their Bible or have it framed. The funeral program can also help in the healing process because it is an item that signifies an end of a life.

The funeral program encapsulates the deceased life in one booklet or format. You can include virtually anything that will highlight a loved one's life. Such items may include photos throughout their life, a detailed obituary, special poems, any written work by the deceased or family member, and the funeral order of service.

The front cover will generally have the deceased name, and date of birth through date of death. Next can include an obituary, order of service, poems or favorite song lyrics, and a photo montage.

Perhaps you may want to display a photo prominently on the cover of the funeral memorial program and have additional photos throughout their life within the program. Some like to create a sort of collage effect so there are multiple photos included.

Unlike a memorial video or memorial table display, the funeral memorial program will be a keepsake and attendees are free to take it home after the service. Most people want to create beautiful funeral memorial programs since it will be kept for a long time.

The standard and most convenient sizing would be a letter size, folded in half paper. Multiple pages then folded in half would create a booklet effect. You can delegate this task to a member of the family who might be inclined to be artistic and computer savvy or there are resources available on the web that customize funeral memorial programs for you.

You can also find funeral programs templates available with ready-made designs. This can be a time saver if you are short on time. Templates allow you full control over the content and printing, if you choose to print it at home or even at an office supply store.

Some people also frame the cover of these programs as a memorial to their loved one or place it in a scrapbook. Creating a program does not need to be a stressful task. Utilize the resources that are readily available now on the web and it will help ease funeral preparations for you.