Are you feeling?
Celebrations of Life for Memory Loss
Do you and your loved ones find yourself living with memory loss or dementia?
Celebrations of life for memory loss are a profound way of gathering yourselves and your memories. As an experienced award winning celebrant I can facilitate a story telling process at a celebration of life for you all.
At the end of the celebration I go home and create a beautiful 10 page legacy book full of your stories which you then have as an heirloom and keepsake. You can revisit your memories at any time and your stories are not lost.
The process of gathering together to tell your stories and celebrate is ancient. Surrounding yourselves with love, hugs and belonging is invaluable.
Contact me now for a FREE discovery call. You can also download my free 5 Alternative Funeral Ideas to Inspire You.
Are you feeling?
Worried that all those stories will be lost if you don’t share them and write them down?
Concerned that you or your loved one will slowly fade and become isolated and sad?
Upset that you haven’t said ‘thank you’ or ‘I love you’ of found a way to connect before it’s too late?
Imagine if...
You could share all your stories together and bring them all together into a 10 page keepsake legacy book with photos, ensuring that they’re not lost to time?
You could surround your loved one with company and joy? Find a way to celebrate and build a shared experience and revisit those memories together?
You could create a space and occasion where you can say all the important things before it is too late.
“Jess was kind, intelligent, compassionate and interested in our family. She was very supportive and caring and really made a sad, difficult time a bit easier. Very grateful to her.”
– Sarah
CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE FOR THOSE WITH MEMORY LOSS.
Celebrations of Life for those with dementia or declining memory: a chance to gather loved ones together.
Dementia and memory decline are often devastating and it is often the case that people don’t know what to do. Gathering together and including the person who is living with dementia can be really healing and a Celebration of Life with them whilst they are still able to recognise you and enjoy company can be a brilliant thing to do.
A Celebration of Life that is life affirming and offers a chance to share stories.
Losing our stories of shared experiences of even stories of a loved ones life before we were born is something most of us fear. It is possible to gather together in a celebration which allows for you to share those stories and record them.
Choose a Celebration of Life that works for the individual and those who love them.
You can have a celebration at home or in the care home or supported living lounge. You can even have a Celebration at the bedside of a person with dementia. The options are endless and as long as they reflect the person concerned it will be an enjoyable, joyous occasion. Food and drink, music, laughter and those photos!!
A chance to say the good things; Celebrations of Life for those with memory loss.
Say all your ‘I love yous’, and all your ‘thank yous’ at a Celebration of Life for someone with dementia or declining memory. An occasion facilitated by a skilled professional is a safe space which makes the important conversations easy.
A guided process with a fully accredited double award-winning Funeral Celebrant with over a decade of experience.
INTRODUCING MY UNIQUE SERVICES
CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE FOR THOSE WITH DEMENTIA & DECLINING MEMORY
BEFORE
Planning your Celebration of life
The first stage allows us to get to know each other. This can be done in person or via a phone/video call.
This is where I can answer your questions and share my experiences to help guide the process.
This is where we generate our outline of the celebration. We discuss you or your loved one’s life, work out your wants and needs and begin to build a vision for. your celebration.
Any questions or concerns about who is involved, what is involved as well as any any unique and personalised requests will all be taken care of here.
DURING
Celebration of Life
The day has arrived… I will meet with you an hour before the celebration begins and begin liaising with everyone involved to ensure a smooth day.
I will facilitate and lead throughout the celebration to ensure everything is cared for seamlessly.
Because of our careful planning, the ceremony will be personal and perfect for everyone involved.
We will look at photos and home video footage, eat snacks, drink favourite drinks and share stories.
I will jot down key memories and points and enable any elements of ceremony or creativity. I will lead where needed.
AFTER
The Keepsake – Legacy Book from your Celebration of Life
This is the chance to have a physical keepsake of their life lived, captured and remembered.
You will receive a printed copy of the memories book, thinking of it as a memory book or legacy book. This will be created from the shared memories and key moments of the person’s life which you have been discussing at the event.
The keepsake book will be a small 10 page book with photos.
A catch up call at a time of your choosing where we can remember the day and chat about any further needs.
Celebration of Life are life affirming and healing.
Celebration of life for those with dementia can help you emotionally.
When we create memorable, new shared memories we are sharing more than just memories. We are sharing our experience and making sure that no one feels alone.
There are may studies to show scientifically the importance of communal gathering and sharing our difficult experiences being beneficial to wellbeing.
There are also studies about the emotional centre of the brain being a part of our brains which can still be functioning during memory decline. It is possible to forge new pathways and connections.
Sharing positive healing life experiences like these are good both for the person with dementia but also for those who love them. Eating, drinking, laughing and sharing as you remember helps you all to make meaning from your experience.
My Mission Around Celebrations of Life for those with memory loss.
I’m jess, a celebrant who helps to create CELEBRATIONS FOR THOSE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA.
Since 2013 I have been a Funeral Celebrant creating ceremonies and celebrations for many different people.
I heard many stories of people who had lived with dementia or memory loss. People described them as having for several years ‘not really been themselves’.
When I decided to work creating Living Funerals for people I was asked to create a celebration for someone who was not dying but who had memory loss and who was losing their memory rapidly.
It hadn’t ever occurred to me before the request that it made so much sense. So many times people had said to me ‘we’ve really already done our grieving’ by the time they reached the funeral service.
For some people they had a sense of their person ‘not really being there’ but as we know it isn’t that simple. Celebrations of Life remind us of the person we love and that they are still there, somewhere inside.
The Celebration of Life I created for Hazel was of all the celebrations I’ve ever created possibly my favourite.
Contact me to discuss a celebration of life for someone with memory loss.
More Celebration of Life client love
Made a sad, difficult time a bit easier…
“Jess was kind, intelligent, compassionate and interested in our family. She was very supportive and caring and really made a sad, difficult time a bit easier. Very grateful to her.”
– Nancy
It was one of the most wonderful days
“Jess is the most amazing human and even more amazing celebrant.
Jess delivered my friend’s woodland burial at Westall Park, and although it was a truly sad occasion it was one of the most wonderful days. Sincere, bright, well-composed and appropriately humorous.
It went way beyond anything I was expecting. If you’re reading this you already know you’re going to book her. She’s amazing. Do it. “
– Sarah
Memories are in the forefront of our thoughts
“She took us back to our childhood, bringing back happy memories that had been forgotten over the years. This really helped us through the sad, heart-wrenching time we had with him in the months leading up to his passing. I’m happy to say that those childhood memories are now in the forefront of our thoughts and for this I can’t thank Jess enough. She is amazing 🤩.”
– Amanda
Truly an amazing spirit
“Thank you again from the bottom of my heart you truly are an amazing spirit and I felt it flow through me when you took my hands in yours xx”
– Margaret
Jess enabled a joyous celebration…
“Jess was the best celebrant – funerals are never fun, but Jess enabled a joyous celebration of a life very well lived and very much loved – thank you”
– Fiona
Jess met my sister and arranged her celebration
“Jess is an exceptional celebrant. I was lucky that Jess met my sister and arranged her celebration of life before she died. As Jess spoke you could tell the amount of time she had spoken with my sister and her friends so it was such a personal tribute. Jess spent so much time preparing, making sure that the day ran perfectly, you could feel her passion for her job. Jess is a beautiful person, who did a beautiful service for a beautiful day.”
– Jane
Celebrations of Life – Frequently Asked Questions
What are Celebrations of Life?
Celebrations of Life ‘do what they say on the tin’. They celebrate the life of a particular person. Often this is after they’ve died but I offer celebrations for people before they die.
What is the cost of Jess May's Celebration of Life for the Living?
My Celebrations of life cost £1.2k and include a keepsake or memory book as a legacy or heirloom. A traditional funeral can set you back £5k.
What is a personalised Celebration of Life?
This means that your celebration of Life will be particular to you or your person. If the person we are celebrating is Jamaican then we will have a Jamaican flavour. If they were sea swimmers we will have it on the beach, if they loved their allotment we will have it there…and so on…
Can a person plan their own Celebration of Life?
Yes, a person can plan their own Celebration of Life. Just make sure that you have plenty of people on hand to delegate to!