Have you prepared a will?

The question, “Do you have a will?” is tossed around from time to time. For slightly more than half of Americans, the answer is, no. According to a 2021 Gallup poll, about 46% of Americans have a will with the percentage increasing as age increases.

When most people think of a will, the first thing that comes to mind is a legal document regarding assets, child custody, etc. It is best to consult a lawyer for this type of will. In addition to this very important legal will, many people today are choosing to prepare an ethical will as well.

An ethical will is not a legal document and can be prepared and shared in whatever way you personally choose. It’s an opportunity for you to share life lessons and values you find important or the reasoning behind the decisions in your legal will. It's also a vessel to speak to your loved ones on a more personal level.

Take your time and reflect during this process. Make notes about important points you want to include, and people you want to mention. Use this opportunity to include some personal touches that your loved ones will enjoy.

Your ethical will is something you will want to return to every few years to edit and consider. Life is unpredictable and end of life planning can be daunting, but much like pre-planning your arrangements, taking the time to prepare and maintain legal and ethical wills can be invaluable to your family.

Save money in the long-term and save your family from added stress by pre-planning

Tips for how to become financially free or more prepared for the future are common topics. One of the possibly lesser known among these financially savvy tips is to pre-plan for your own funeral or memorial and end of life intentions.

The death of a loved one is an obviously difficult and highly emotional experience. If you have taken the time and care to pre-plan for your arrangements it can significantly ease a portion of the hardship that could weigh upon your family. There are so many details to figure out and it can be quite difficult to make decisions under stress while mourning the loss of someone special.

Working on this in a preemptive way allows you to approach the topic with logic and a clear mind. Locking in and pre-paying eliminates the impact of inflation. Having a prepaid plan also eliminates the potentially unexpected financial burden on your loved ones. This process tells your family and loved ones exactly what your wishes are and allows them to execute the plan knowing it was what you wanted. It removes any possibility that they struggle with the daunting process or feel the need to overspend. Pre-planning gives your loved ones the gift of being able to grieve in the way that they need to as well as making sure your wishes are carried out for your funeral or memorial service.   

Whether you’re looking for ground burial or cremation services, Toledo Memorial Park will be able to help you plan. Once you’ve worked with a dedicated member of the team, you’ll be able to work out your lump payment or payment plan. While there are specific details to each option, you can rest assured you have taken inflation out of the equation. You’ll receive everything you need to provide simple instructions to your family and loved ones on how to enact your personal plans.

Pre-planning with the team at Toledo Memorial Park is a smooth process. Take control of your future while easing the burden placed on your loved ones and call the Park today.

Additional information and resources:

Next Avenue

The Money Pages

Funeral traditions, a global view

From fantasy coffins to being memorialized at sea, funeral traditions vary greatly around the world. Of course, most people reading this are quite familiar with American funeral traditions. Religious ceremonies hosted in a place of worship and/or opportunities to mourn together in funeral homes and culminating with cremation or traditional burial ceremonies in a cemetery much like Toledo Memorial Park.

Some traditions aim to celebrate the life of the deceased with loud, jubilant music like New Orleans Jazz Funerals. The jazz parade begins at the church or funeral home and leads mourners and loved ones to the cemetery. Music played during the procession ranges from spiritual to joyful and fun. Everyone is encouraged to dance. Other cultures, such as in India along the Ganges river, also embrace the parade-style of paying homage to loved ones.

In Ghana a furniture maker popularized fantasy coffins or “okadi adekai” in the 1950s. Today, his son carries on the craft and the deceased can be laid to rest in a coffin that shows details of their life, dreams, or whatever fantasy they or their loved ones want to present. Speaking of coffins, in the Philippians the Igorot people hang coffins over the side of a cliff. While the practice is rare today, it was thought this would bring the deceased closer to their ancestors.

Along the coast of Florida, people can choose to have their cremains turned into a portion of a coral reef. End of life options and traditions vary greatly across the cultures and throughout world history. Click for more on global and historic funeral traditions.

Time marches on and traditions grow, evolve, and change. The Green Burial Council is working toward making burial more eco-friendly. While not yet an option in all 50 states, the emerging trend of human composting is on pace to become a new funeral custom.

As always, the friendly and helpful staff at the Park can answer all of your funeral, cremation, and burial questions. Whether you’re pre-planning for yourself of a loved one or have a more pressing need, the Toledo Memorial Park team can guide you.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 7, 2023

Media Contact:
Sara Stacy on behalf of Image Focus: 
(313) 510-2775 or sarastacypr@gmail.com

Toledo Memorial Park’s Annual Car Show is FREE Family Fun
This event and others show the Park’s commitment to the community

Sylvania, OH—Head on out to Toledo Memorial Park (the Park) on Aug. 20, 2023, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. for the annual car show. This special event benefits the Wreaths Across America program, led locally by your team at the Park.

            “The car show has been a staple at the Park for more than a decade and might be my favorite day of the summer,” said Mel Harbaugh, local coordinator of Wreaths Across America. “It’s such a great way to celebrate our wonderful Sylvania community while giving back to those who served our country.”

            The annual event sees more than one thousand visitors and puts approximately three to four hundred interesting, unique and classic cars on display. Festivities include food trucks, 50/50 drawing, door prizes (including a 36” BlackStone Grill) and more.

            “Being a part of a community like Sylvania is very special,” said Jeff Clegg, president of Toledo Memorial Park. “We are deeply invested in helping Sylvania maintain a reputation as such a desirable place to live. We are passionate about making valuable connections with the school system, local nonprofits, supporting community events presented by the city and Red Bird District, and so much more.”

Upcoming Events: 

Annual Car Show
Sunday, Aug. 20, 10a.m.-2p.m.
Rain date: Sunday, Aug. 27.
Join the Park president, Jeff Clegg and Wreaths Across America local coordinator, Mel Harbaugh for this fun family event and show your support for the community and our local fallen heroes.

Ridin’ Late in County 48
Saturday, Aug. 26:
Slow ride: 8-10 p.m.
Afterparty: 10 p.m.-midnight
Register here
Get your bike out and add some twinkle lights for this fun slow ride through Sylvania. The route features neighborhoods, parks, and even the Park. Toledo Memorial Park is a proud sponsor of this long-running 9-mile ride event.

Wreaths Across America
Saturday, Dec. 16 at noon
Remember the Fallen. . . Honor those who Serve. . . Teach our children the value of Freedom. Experience a touching ceremony with wreath placement immediately following at Toledo Memorial Park Cemetery and Mausoleum. This special event will remember and honor veterans by laying remembrance wreaths on the graves of our country's fallen heroes.

Please help us honor and remember as many fallen heroes as possible by sponsoring remembrance wreaths, volunteering on Wreaths Day, or inviting your family and friends to attend with you.

Specific grave requests at the cemetery can be made by contacting the location coordinator, Mel Harbaugh, at 46elapid@gmail.com to help ensure wreath placement.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Sara Stacy on behalf of Image Focus: 
(313) 510-2775 or sarastacypr@gmail.com 

Toledo Memorial Park
Established in 1922, Toledo Memorial Park is the area’s finest cemetery, with 380 beautiful acres of meadows, ponds, magnificent trees, flowering plants and sculptures all designed to celebrate the living beauty of nature. Our goal has been to create a peaceful retreat where generations can gather in beauty and tranquility to remember their loved ones. The non-sectarian, non-denominational, non-profit Park is solely owned by property owners who believe in family, choices and commitment. The Park includes a crematory, mausoleums, chapels, columbariums and burial sections accommodating both lawn level memorials and upright monuments and provides for all individual preferences including earth burial, mausoleum entombment, cremation and inurnment. For more information visit www.ToledoMemorialPark.com or call (419) 882-7151.

What to expect from your funeral director

Experiencing the death of a loved one is inevitable. There is a lot of work that, unfortunately, comes with this. Having a funeral director you can work with easily and comfortably is very important. A trustworthy partner who can keep the background requirements of the process moving is an immense support to your grieving process.

So, you may be asking what you should look for in a funeral director. ‘Funeral arrangements’ is a pretty broad and generalized statement. You can expect your funeral director to coordinate all of the details for the service with you and manage the event needs. Additionally, your funeral director will complete all of the paperwork needed to obtain a death certificate. Other things you can request include having the director help you arrange a burial plot with a local cemetary and even write the obituary.

Becoming a funeral director is a big commitment and it requires a state license. While it varies from one state to another, Ohio requires a bachelor’s degree, a 12-month mortuary science program certification, a two-year apprenticeship, and passing of the state exam*.  

Funeral directors are passionate about their work and genuinely care about the families they serve. Very often, you’ll find that the director you choose is second, third, or more generation in the profession.

Your team at Toledo Memorial Park can help you in the same ways with your cemetery needs as well as provide help selecting a local funeral home. You’ll be able to rely on your service providers and grieve in the way you need knowing everything will be handled smoothly.   

*Bowling Green State University

Headstones and their history

The headstone or grave marker is a universally recognizable symbol. Today they range from a flat marker on the ground with the important details of a person’s time on this Earth to very large, ornate markers that tell a portion of the story of someone’s life. But where does this come from, how did this tradition evolve into what we see today?  

Grave markers date back to approximately 3,000 B.C. First coming into view in the Celtic and Roman ages. These monuments were generally quite large and accounted for entire families as organized cemeteries did not yet exist. And, of course, we are all familiar with the iconic monuments of the ancient Egyptians and Mayan cultures that, in some cases, still stand today.

As time went on grave markers and headstones evolved into a fairly common practice. Medieval times brought about the use of iconography on headstones including skulls, angels, and more. If someone couldn’t afford stone; wood, iron, or brass were acceptable substitutes. Later, churches began using cemeteries on church grounds and the Victorian age popularized private cemeteries.

In the modern cemetery we still see hints and flashes of the historic practices laid out above. For instance, the large monument designating an entire family with smaller name plates or headstones gathered around it is still a tradition seen in cemeteries today. We also see monument benches and other markers intended to be an inviting place to sit and spend time with your loved ones who have passed. Today, the options to memorialize yourself or your loved ones is nearly limitless. The right cemetery can even help you pay a timeless homage to a first responder or veteran in very special ways.

Toledo Memorial Park can assist with all of your monuments and markers needs. Reach out to a team member at the Park today.

For more on headstones:

https://www.southwestmonument.com/article/the-evolution-of-headstones-a-brief-history

https://connectingdirectors.com/64502-headstones?utm_source=connectingdirectors&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=thedailyhearse_10-19-2022&utm_content=article-block-button

Immersive Horticulture Education at Toledo Memorial Park

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Sara Stacy on behalf of Image Focus: 
(313) 510-2775 or sarastacypr@gmail.com

Toledo Memorial Park Continues Rewarding Horticulture Internship Program
The program is part of an ongoing partnership with Sylvania Schools

Sylvania, OH — Northview High School senior Makayla Johnson started this month as the 2023 Sylvania Schools Horticulture Intern at Toledo Memorial Park (the Park). The rewarding partnership between Sylvania Schools and the Park goes back several decades.

The internship is a part of the extensive horticulture program that Johnson attends through Southview High School. The two-year program is only offered at Southview where there are three greenhouses and the students focus on themes including parks and recreation, greenhouse management, landscapes system management, and business management for agriculture. The students earn their OSHA 30 certification and can earn up to 13 college credits through the program.

Makayla, better known to her friends and family as Mak, attends Northview for her core classes and Southview for horticulture. This is her second year in the program. “I’ve always been interested in nature and plants, I created a native prairie feature in our garden at home with my mom,” said Johnson. “My mom got me interested in looking at tech programs like this one and I’m planning to major in environmental science at BGSU next fall.”

This is Toledo Memorial Park’s third horticulture intern through Sylvania Schools. Additionally, they have a program for hiring summer help through the school system. The relationship dates back to the late-1970’s

Johnson is working closely with Gina Wells, executive coordinator at the Park, and will help with park planting projects and maintenance as well as learn about plant identification and pruning. This internship will also give Johnson an opportunity to work on horticulture projects that are unique to an extensive cemetery such as the Perennial Garden which contains more than 60 plant species integrated with human cremains in ornamental markers like decorative boulders and birdbaths with engraving.

“The maintenance of an area like this is very different from a traditional memorial marker area and also from that of a typical garden,” said Wells. “It’s been wonderful to highlight these unique sections of the Park and it gives Makayla interesting and tailored experiences to take with her when she graduates.”

“Being involved with the local schools has been such a positive experience for the Park,” said Jeff Clegg, president and CEO of Toledo Memorial Park. “It’s great to see the students become ambassadors of the program and we’ve even had current and retired employees who started at the Park as a part of these immersive programs thanks to this relationship.”

Johnson will learn about the Green Ribbon Initiative with Oak Openings, work with the Master Gardeners and with Maumee Valley Adventure Group, and so much more. Prior to this internship Johnson was a volunteer through the Toledo Zoo’s Zoo Teen program. She has nearly 500 volunteer hours under her belt.  

MEDIA CONTACT:
Sara Stacy on behalf of Image Focus: 
(313) 510-2775 or sarastacypr@gmail.com

Toledo Memorial Park

Established in 1922, Toledo Memorial Park is the area’s finest cemetery, with 380 beautiful acres of meadows, ponds, magnificent trees, flowering plants and sculptures all designed to celebrate the living beauty of nature. Our goal has been to create a peaceful retreat where generations can gather in beauty and tranquility to remember their loved ones. The non-sectarian, non-denominational, non-profit Park is solely owned by property owners who believe in family, choices and commitment. The Park includes a crematory, mausoleums, chapels, columbariums and burial sections accommodating both lawn level memorials and upright monuments and provides for all individual preferences including earth burial, mausoleum entombment, cremation and inurnment. For more information visit www.ToledoMemorialPark.com or call (419) 882-7151.