Facebook and… funerals?

Today I was very saddened to learn that a friend’s father passed away from cancer.

The news was communicated via an email with a subject line that foretold its contents.  However, there was something different about this message:

It included a link to a facebook group.

While I was initially surprised, I quickly learned there are many benefits to using facebook to handle the passing of a loved one.

1. It is a convenient place to centralize, update and control information about the deceased, the family members, the wake and obituary publication details.
2. Family and friends can share their grief, blessings, memories and support by commenting and posting, privately or publicly.
3. You can post photos of the deceased, as convenient.
4. Services/wakes can be created as events: family members get a sense who’s coming without showing the guest list, addresses are hyperlinked to maps.
5. Donation links can go directly to charitable organizations.
6. Even if one doesn’t have a facebook profile, one can view the group details.

Facebook’s just gone up a notch in my books.

My deepest sympathy, DA. Sending you positive energy, from my heart.

Tagged as: Cancer, centralize, convenient, Death, deceased, donations, Facebook, family, Friends, funeral, group, Health, memories, passes, photos, private, public, Social network, update, wake