Working as a mortician, I see first hand just how special memorial folders can be to the friends and family of the deceased. They certainly can be a lasting memento- drawing on the memories of a lost loved one and safeguarding cherished photos and meaningful poems. Your loved one may be gone, but with memorial folder keepsakes, the deceased will never be forgotten.

So, I’ve decided to present my skills and knowledge on this website to help you create your own meaningful memorial folders for an upcoming funeral.

Before you decide whether or not you want to make your own memorial folders, please consider the large amount of time and energy needed to design, print, and fold the cards. Here are just some of the basic folder creation tasks:

• Gathering photos of the deceased; scanning and editing them
• Compiling the funeral service details
• Finding meaningful verses or poems to include
• Collecting accurate biographical information of the decedent
• Using computer publishing and photo editing programs
• Buying the paper and ink to print the folders
• And, often times, folding them by hand

Please know that when a death has occurred, there are many other tasks you may be working to complete. I do not want you to be stressed out, so please consider these things as well before deciding to create your own folders. But on the other hand, designing your own memorials may give you a sense of accomplishment and help with your personal grieving process. Here are just some of the other things you may be doing during this time:

• Making funeral arrangements
• Calling and notifying friends and family
• Organizing church and/or reception services
• Writing an obituary for the newspaper (this can take longer than you think!)
• Hashing out cemetery details
• Ordering flowers for the service
• Creating a eulogy (if you plan on speaking during the service)
• Figuring out how family will travel, where they’ll stay, how they’ll be fed, etc.
• And, of course, taking time for yourself to get your feet on the ground

Okay, so if you find yourself up to the task after reading all of this, read on for some tips on making your own memorial folders!

I know, it’s a difficult question to answer. Often times, when family members decide to make their own folders, they don’t have enough and soon run out. You can try the one-per-couple philosophy, but it won’t work. Everyone usually wants their own, and maybe even additional ones to send out to friends and relatives that couldn’t make it to the service. Trust me; I speak from a mortician’s experience :)

Here are some helpful tips on deciding how many to print:

• Look at the size of the chapel. How many people does it seat? Do you think the chapel will be full at the service?
• Look at the size of the family alone. Are there lots of relatives? Relatives take up a large chunk of the folder supply.
• How old was the decedent? If he/she was young, you can bet that you’ll need a lot of folders (sometimes as many as 400!). Is the decedent elderly and outlived all of his/her friends? You might not need as many then.
• Was your loved one involved in different organizations? Church groups, fraternal organizations, knitting clubs, etc. can fill up a chapel fast!
• Was the death sudden, tragic, or publicized? In these rare cases, people that didn’t even know your loved one may attend the service just to show their respects. (Examples: soldiers killed in action, public figures like police or firefighters, victims of senseless crimes like the Columbine tragedy- I’m from Colorado, had to throw it in). You might find that there’s standing-room-only at these funerals.

   

Having considered all of these questions, go with your gut instinct on how many to print. For example, the services at our funeral home usually get by with about 150 to 200 folders.

I’ve made folders of all different sizes, but for the purposes of this instructive website, I’m going to stick with the 8 ½ x 11” bi-folds and the smaller double-folds.

Keep in mind that the larger bi-folds are easier to see and require less folding time. The smaller double-folds are easier to hold and more convenient for stuffing in your purse or Bible. I’d say that you size decision depends on the type of service. If you’re having a funeral or memorial service in a chapel or church or other building where people will be seated, go for the larger bi-folds. If it’s gonna be a graveside service, go for the smaller double-folds.

There are many templates available online for creating your own memorial folders. I’ve never used any of them because I don’t wanna pay for them. I have the Microsoft Publisher program on my computer and it works just fine for all of the folders we make at the funeral home :)

Using Microsoft Publisher, I click on the Blank Publications option that appears in the window on the left when you open a new Publisher project. From the Blank Publications window, you can choose the Side Fold Card option for the smaller folders.

For the larger bi-fold memorials, open a new Publisher project, under the File menu, click on Page Setup, and under the Publication Type on the Layout tab, click on Booklet. Make sure that the bubble for Landscape orientation is clicked (see photo below). When selecting this option, it may ask you if you want to insert pages. Click Yes.

Now You're ready to start designing!

For this memorial folder creation example, let’s just work on designing a simple, elegant project. I don’t want to overwhelm you with busy background images or crazy hard-to-read font. If you’ve chosen to work with a template you found online, you may have a lot of these extras to work with anyway.

If you've chosen to design the folders yourself, I'm going to assume that you already know how to use a computer and the the program you've selected (Publisher here). So I'm not going into all of the deatils about how to insert text boxes and such.

For the cover, I put these words at the top:

In Loving Memory of

(Decedent’s Name)

*NOTE* I usually make the decedent’s name a bit larger so it’s noticeable. Also, I typically use the Monotypre Corsiva font. It’s classy and easy to read.

Below the name, I usually add a photo to the cover of the folders. I pick an excellent photo of the decedent, usually a recent photo so he/she is easily recognized. I use the program PhotoImpact to edit the picture. I like it to be as clear as possible with the correct color balance. Then I use my selection tool and copy the photo in an oval shape with a soft edge.

If you aren’t able to select a soft edge, copy the photo onto the cover of the folder and give it a thin border. This looks great too!

Below the photo, I typically put the birth and death dates of the decedent (usually just the years…. the rest of the information will be on the inside of the folders)

On the inside on the left, I usually put another picture or two of the decedent and a short poem or verse that’s poignant and meaningful (see photo below).

This page is a wonderful place for younger portraits of your loved one and maybe even a fun picture or family photo. *NOTE* You don’t want to overwhelm the folder with photos. Leave the photo collages for the poster boards in the foyer at the funeral home!

If you need help finding a poem or verse, CLICK HERE for an excellent resource of over 250 funeral-related readings. If, by chance, you have something your loved one wrote him/herself, adding it to this inside page could be incredibly meaningful too. Like a special greeting or phrase your loved one used a lot. I’ve even scanned an old letter one man sent to his fiancé when he was at war overseas. It was a very touching “I Love You” message that could make anyone cry.

The Right Side is for Service Information

The right side of the inside of the folder is where you put all of the particulars of the funeral service. Here’s what I usually put (see photo to know how I typically lay it all out):

Decedent’s Full Name at the top

Birth and Death Dates

Birth and Death Places

Funeral/Memorial Service Date and Time

Funeral/Memorial Service Location

Name of the Person Officiating

Church that the Officiant is Affiliated with (if any)

Town Where that Church is Located

Names of Special Speakers (relatives giving eulogies, for example)

Musical Selections (Song Titles and Artists…. don’t get in trouble with copyright laws!)

Special Presentations- if any (Military Honor Guard, Masonic Lodge ceremony, etc.)

Place of Interment (cemetery name and city)

Again, see photo above for an idea of how I lay it all out! *NOTE* To do a background picture like the example above, I just paste a lightened scenic landscape photo into the project, right-click the image, arrange the order to "send to back", and make sure that the font color can be seen over the background image.

Lots of people tend to forget about designing the back of the memorial folders. I think the back is an excellent place to put a big “Thank You” to everyone that attended the service and/or cared for you and your loved one during the difficult time surrounding illness, death, and grief. Here’s a nice “generic” one we sometimes use:

The family would like to take this opportunity to express their appreciation for your many kindnesses evidenced in thought and deed, and for your attendance at the service. ~ Thank You. The Family of (Decedent’s Name)

The back of the folder is also a great place for a funny photo of the decedent. I’ve used ones of a farmer waving good-bye from a large tractor, a cowboy riding a bucking horse, a grandma making a funny face, or a grandpa wearing a funny wig. Use you imagination to make it as memorable as possible.

Sometimes, the obituary can fit onto the back (if the obituary is short and you use the large version of the folders). Just be sure that the type is big enough to read!