Circle of Life Celebration Memorials

Lizabeth LeVine and her family recently created a beautiful outdoor memorial for her Mom with a custom engraved memorial plaque from PlaqueMaker.

“We took Mom’s ashes to her homestead and created a circle of life celebration memorial,” Lizabeth tells us. “Thank you for all your patience, support, creativity and sacred art.”

This spring, Lizabeth hopes to lay the memorial plaque flat on the ground and to plant a flowering bush in honor of her Mom. Our outdoor memorial plaques are an everlasting way to remember beloved relatives, friends, mentors, pets or anyone who has touched your life. The memorials, plaques and headstones can be personalized with names, life dates, inspirational quotes and custom messages. Engrave a favorite photo or choose a worthy symbol or illustration from our wide array of clip art. On some outdoor memorial plaque styles, we can print your text and artwork in vivid, full color that’s UV-resistant.

Our custom memorials make beautiful dedications in a garden. If you choose to place your memorial in a cemetery, please contact the cemetery prior to ordering to ensure our headstones meet their requirements. Many mounting options are available, and plaques come in a variety of materials and styles.

Donating Your Body to Science

A little over a year before Lizabeth received her mother’s ashes, her mother donated her body to a university for scientific study.

For many people, choosing to donate their body or their organs to science is a way to support those who develop the medicine, technology or procedures that may have helped the life of someone they care about, or their own, or they hope more treatments can be developed and more lives can be saved.

Donations are used in a number of different ways:

● For testing new medical tools and equipment

● For studying stages of advanced decay

● For studying human anatomy purposes

● For testing new surgeries

● For testing car safety products

● For solving crimes as forensic tools

You Make the Choice

You make the choice between donating your body or donating your organs to a facility or a program, so the recipients can be contacted for you when the time comes.

● With body donation, your family may not have the chance to say goodbye beforehand. You also won’t be able to specify how it is used.

● With organ donation, your family can still have hold a service for you and you can specify in advance which organs you’d like to donate.

Decide how much control you’d like to have over what happens to your body after your death. Research programs and facilities for willed body donation within your state. Understand also when body donation is not acceptable, such as in the case of certain medical conditions, extensive trauma or advanced decomposition. Consider the following:

Cost: Find out what your family will be responsible for paying.

Funeral or Memorial: Find out when your cremated remains will be available to your family. Some programs perform a memorial service after the science is completed and before cremation. Burial can sometimes be requested.

Discussing Your Decision: Inform your doctor and family members before your death. Explain to them what they are responsible to do after your death. It’s also a good idea to put it in writing and notify your attorney.

Make Alternate Plans: While you may be a good candidate for body donation, there is always the chance of rejection. Decide what you’d like done in advance if this occurs. Remember that you may be able to donate your organs instead.

Fill Out the Correct Forms: Make sure to complete the appropriate registration packet, including complying with details and signing a consent form, to be returned and acknowledged. Carry a wallet card notification with you at all times, if you receive one. Over the years, it may be necessary to update your paperwork. If you change your mind, opt out of the program in writing and file a copy with your attorney.

Understanding what happens when you donate your body or your organs to science can help with the decision.