Personalized Memorials Portray Stories of the Deceased for Future Generations; Full-Time Memorial Designer is First in Funeral Home Profession
Lakewood, WA (PRWEB) July 29, 2013 -- Does a name, date of birth and death, summarize a life? Memorials get personal with the funeral home profession’s first full-time memorial designer. The director of memorial designs, David Montgomery, creates memorials for a family of cemeteries, funeral homes and crematories with locations throughout the U.S. including Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery, Chapel of the Chimes Hayward, Chapel of the Chimes Oakland, Sunset Lawn Chapel of the Chimes Sacramento and Skylawn Funeral Home.
"Personalized memorials are a vehicle to tell a story about a loved one," said David Montgomery, director of memorial designs. "I’ve managed the creation of hundreds of memorials over the past 16 years that range in complexity and size; however, all the memorials share a common thread – a window into the life of a loved one."
Personalized memorials are created through a collaborative process between Montgomery and families to help him better understand the personality and values of their loved ones. The outcome is a one-of-a-kind memorial tribute to an individual or an entire family. Personalized memorials are available in many different styles, from a flat memorial with a photo to an elaborate memorial depicting the person or a favorite hobby.
Designing a Custom Memorial Heals
In September of 2012, Dave Salove, who later joined Mountain View Memorial Park & Crematory as the general manager, started the process of memorializing his deceased brother, Christopher Salove. “There is no comfort looking at images or videos of a loved one if there isn’t a physical place to go,” said Dave Salove, general manager of Mountain View Memorial Park & Crematory. “Having that physical place brings importance and remembrance to my brother’s life. The memorial wasn’t for my brother; it was for the entire family and future generations to remember the traits that made him who he was.”
Dave Salove, with input from family members, collaborated with Montgomery to create a 36 x 36 inch black granite memorial illustrating his brother’s life. The design portrays a scene that juxtaposes Christopher Salove’s favorite horse as a child and his favorite dog as a young adult within the same setting. The memorial also includes a carving of Christopher Salove’s cowboy boots that had a distinct curled up toe and a collage of 16 photos cast on a 12 x 12 inch piece of bronze.
"It’s an afterlife image of my brother," said Dave Salove. "The process of creating my brother’s memorial continues to be one of the most personal experiences I have ever had in my life."
"It is so rewarding to create personalized memorials," said Montgomery. "It makes me feel like I have achieved something special for that family and also helps the families and individuals heal through the process."
David Montgomery designs personalized memorials for a family of cemeteries, funeral homes and crematories with locations throughout the United States including: Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery, Chapel of the Chimes Hayward, Chapel of the Chimes Oakland, Sunset Lawn Chapel of the Chimes Sacramento and Skylawn Funeral Home. For more information, please contact a specific location.
ABOUT MOUNTAIN VIEW FUNERAL HOME, MEMORIAL PARK & CREMATORY
Established in 1915 and located in Lakewood, WA. For more information, visit http://www.mountainviewtacoma.com.
ABOUT CHAPEL OF THE CHIMES HAYWARD
Established in 1872 as a seven-acre cemetery and located in Hayward, CA. For more information, visit http://www.hayward.chapelofthechimes.com. (FD 1240)
ABOUT CHAPEL OF THE CHIMES OAKLAND
Established in 1909 as a crematory and columbarium, Chapel of the Chimes Oakland is a leading cremation service provider in Northern California. For more information, visit http://oakland.chapelofthechimes.com/. (FD 1254)
ABOUT SUNSET LAWN CHAPEL OF THE CHIMES SACRAMENTO
Established in 1938 as a 12-acre cemetery for World War II Soldiers and located in Sacramento, CA. For more information, visit http://www.sunsetlawn.chapelofthechimes.com. (FD 1023)
ABOUT SKYLAWN FUNERAL HOME AND MEMORIAL PARK
Established in 1959 as a non-sectarian cemetery in San Mateo, CA, a state-of-the-art funeral home was added in 2006. For more information, visit http://www.skylawnmemorialpark.com. (FD 1848
Tarah Beaven, Landis Communications, Inc., http://www.landispr.com, 4153592306, [email protected]
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