Funerals Today: How we honor those we loved

Written by JACKIE KENNEDY

At a time when it seems almost everything on Earth has changed over the past few decades, death remains the one constant that every human being will face. But services to honor those dead have evolved tremendously in recent years.

While the wakes of yore gave way to yesterday’s visitations, in 2025, there may not be either. Funeral attendees are as likely to hear pop songs as hymns. Once-private and one-time events, today’s services might be livestreamed to the other side of the globe and viewed over and over again on YouTube.

Even solemnity, once expected as the standard at every homegoing service, may be absent in today’s celebrations of life.

For those immersed in funeral work – the pastors who lead services and funeral home directors who arrange those events – the phenomenon of a fantastically expanding array of ways to memorialize the departed is part of a routine day. For the rest, evolving funeral trends are worth exploring because, sooner or later, we or someone we love will need that service.

Personalized celebrations

At Roscoe Jenkins Funeral Home in Newnan, partner and funeral director Linette Ward views a shift from traditional funerals to celebrations of life as one of the most marked changes in her industry. The shift to celebrations in Coweta County started to gain momentum in the early 2000s but accelerated over the last 10 to 15 years, according to Ward.

“Many families prefer this approach because it focuses on honoring the individuality and spirit of their loved one, not just mourning their passing,” she says. “It gives people space to share stories, play meaningful music, and incorporate colors or symbols that represent the person’s personality.”

In fact, “personalization” has become a buzzword in the funeral business.

“Personalization is huge, and we encourage it,” says Ward. “Of course, it’s sad because you’re going to miss your loved one, but most of the services we see focus on the beautiful life the deceased lived as an honor to that person you’re celebrating, and it’s a comfort to their family.”

Also called “themed” services, these events are tailormade to be as unique as the person whose life is celebrated by incorporating décor, music and mementos that tell their story, according to Ward. She says Roscoe Jenkins has handled many such services, including a Garden of Memories service for an avid gardener. Ward recalls, “We displayed her gardening tools and handed out seed packets for guests to plant in her memory.”

The funeral home also conducted a New Orleans Jazz Celebration for a New Orleans native with the service featuring a second line parade and Mardi Gras memorabilia. A sports-themed memorial for a lifelong football fan invited all attendees to wear his team’s colors.

Hutch Murphey of Arthur Murphey Florist in Newnan is familiar with personalized funerals. His business has created plenty of themed floral arrangements.

“For outdoorsmen, we’ve done themed sprays with deer antlers or fishing poles,” says Murphey. “For a big Braves fan or Bulldogs fan, we incorporate that into the flowers. We’ve worked sewing or knitting or tennis into floral arrangements, too.”

Over the years, as more obituaries include the deceased’s favorite cause or charity for supporters to contribute to “in lieu of flowers,” sales of funeral flowers on those occasions has decreased, but there’s still plenty of business, according to Murphey.

“Certain people will always send flowers,” he says, noting it’s still common for people to send living plants and floral arrangements. Standing sprays are most common at funerals; for cremations, plants and smaller baskets are seen more, according to Murphey, who says “People want to send something to show their respects,
and flowers shine a light in a sad time.”

Technology attends funerals

Along with holding personalized services, capturing them for posterity has become essential, according to Ward, who notes that livestreaming and filming of services, once rare, is now commonplace. The rapid advance of this is partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic that brought to funerals immediate disruption – and the need for immediate solutions.

“Attendance was limited, making filming, livestreaming and online memorials essential,” says Ward. “Families had to adapt quickly to smaller gatherings, sometimes postponing larger celebrations until later.”

What began out of necessity gained steam because of convenience.

“This has become invaluable for families with loved ones across the country or overseas,” says Ward. “It allows everyone to participate in real time, even if they can’t travel. Filming the service allows families to go back and view the service if they can’t view in real time.”

Other ways technology has permeated the funeral business involve digital memorials.

“Social media tribute pages, online guestbooks and video slideshows are now common ways to share photos, stories and condolences,” says Ward. “They create a lasting space where friends and family can connect.”

Even QR codes have entered the digital basket of goodies.

“We’ve seen more families include QR codes on programs or headstones,” says Ward. “When scanned, these link to online photo galleries, tribute videos or written remembrances, making the memorial interactive and easily accessible.”

Ward feels certain that the future of funeral services will continue blending tradition with personalization.

“Families want meaningful ways to say goodbye, and our role is to help create those moments with care, respect and love,” she says.

Burial versus cremation

Another evolution she’s witnessed in her work at Roscoe Jenkins Funeral Home, according to Ward, is the growing popularity of cremation.

“It has become increasingly common over the last decade, and in our area, it’s now almost equal with traditional burial,” she says. “Families often choose cremation for financial reasons, flexibility in planning or personal beliefs.”

John Daviston, owner of McKoon Funeral Home and Crematory in Newnan, says that while cremation was rare a half-century ago, it now outpaces traditional burial at McKoon.

The funeral home in downtown Newnan experienced a trend toward cremation in the 1990s and, in 2000, added its own crematory. At that time, cremation represented about 18% of their services, says Daviston, noting that cremation now accounts for more than 60%.

“We’re in the first generation of the movement toward cremation,” he says. “For many families, this is the first time they’ve dealt with cremation.”

Daviston also notes a shift to more life celebrations, saying, “We’ve arranged memorials in homes and churches, even hired bands to help in the celebration of a life.”

Local funeral home directors agree that, while changes already were in progress, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the evolution of funeral practices. Changes brought about by necessity then have become commonplace now. One such change involves the timing of services, according to Daviston, who says McKoon once held most funerals a few days after a loved one’s passing, either in a church or the funeral chapel, followed by a graveside service. That still happens but less often.

“We find that families today are often scattered far and wide across the country,” he says. “Rather than an immediate service that might require sudden travel, families can schedule a memorial service at a time convenient to them.”

Daviston cited a recent Saturday when four memorial services were held at the McKoon chapel. In each case, more than a month had elapsed since the family member had died.

From a pastor

Matt Sapp, pastor at Central Baptist Church in Newnan, also sees more cremations than burials now, as well as services delayed several days, or even weeks, after a death.

“Not often do you have the funeral three days after death; it could be a week later or a month,” Sapp says, noting how the pandemic played into that transition. “To have the death of a loved one during Covid was terrible; you couldn’t hug each other or shake hands, and there were only graveside services with seats set far apart. It was just weird during Covid.”

Several changes made then to accommodate families remain in place, according to Sapp, who says that while traditional funerals made a comeback, more intimate graveside services have remained popular since Covid.

“These are usually for family and close friends,” he says. “It’s a stressful time for families, and these smaller services remove the burden of hosting a large service on top of the grief and stress that goes with losing loved ones.”

Central Baptist continues to hold mostly traditional funeral services, but visitations the night before are increasingly rare, according to Sapp.

Regardless of what type of funeral is held, or when, or where, he says there’s one thing that helps grieving families the most: “I see how important their Christian community is for support in their time of need, and it’s not just the church but the hope of our faith.”

Sapp defines that hope as: “the hope of life after death, eternal communion with God, and a hope for reunion when we’ll all be together again.”

“When we work with people who don’t have that, it seems awfully hard and lonely,” says the pastor. “I know there’s community support and family support, but some established connection with faith and a faith community makes all the difference in the world. There’s the ritual and tradition of a funeral service in a sanctuary that’s familiar. Without that, a funeral can seem foreign and sterile and confusing. With it, there’s comfort.” NCM