Category: Memorials

  • Richards Tree

    Richards Tree

    We’ve seen a lot of ideas for creating memorials since we began this journey of dealing with Richards death. We’ve received many as gifts from people that cared about Richard and us.

    We get reminded of one every time we go to our church.  Last year a dogwood tree was planted on the church campus in memory of Richard.

    Right now that tree is bloomed out and beautiful. It’s still a small tree, but it’s showing off right now.

    Richard's dogwood showing off.
    Richard’s dogwood showing off.

    I appreciate this remembrance of our son. There is comfort in this enduring tribute. Knowing year after year this tree will decorate our little corner of the world with its flowery display. As it calls attention to itself, it will also remind all that see it of Richard’s existence on the earth.

    Memorial plaque for Richard.
    This memorial plaque is at the base of the tree.

    I can imagine many years from now, when we are gone too, people coming to church in the spring will come over to admire the beautiful dogwood blossoms.

    They’ll see the plaque and say, “Who was Richard Mudd?”

    He’ll be the mystery man.

    They’ll probably think he was a big donor to the church. Figure him for a big money, high roller kind of guy. Well, maybe he would have been someday.

    But they’ll have something to think about, and Richard will be remembered for many years – even by people that will never know him.

    If your looking for a lasting memorial as a tribute to a lost loved one, or as a gift to the bereaved, you should consider a nice flowering tree.

  • Legacy Memorial Websites

    Legacy Memorial Websites

    The Compassionate Friends has partnered with the people at Legacy.com to bring you a special deal on a memorial website for your lost child. You can get a 14 day free trial to try their system and you will also get a 25% discount on your first year sponsorship. That’s what they call their hosting fee.

    Here’s What You Can Do With These Tribute Sites

    • Customize the design, yet create the site in 5 minutes using Legacy.com.’s 4-step process
    • Include photos, videos, stories, and more
    • Add music
    • Invite family and friends to contribute and join in celebrating the life of a child
    • And much more

    Keep Your Child’s Memory Alive

    I think all of us traveling this grieving parent pathway want to keep our child’s memory. These memorial websites are a simple way to do that and they let you share these memories with others, and let them share their memories with you.

    I haven’t tried one of these because I already pay for this one. It looks like a nice system, and the price is pretty fair.

    Get Your FREE Trial and Discount

    To get this deal you should go to the page on The Compassionate Friends website. When you purchase a memorial site from that link TCF will get a share of the price to support their programs.

  • Memorializing FaceBook

    Memorializing FaceBook

    Richard had a Facebook account. Not too surprising, nearly every college kid does.

    It’s sort of a piece of his life, dangling out there in cyberspace.

    Debbie was one of his “friends” on Facebook. I wasn’t.

    Facebook started out being limited to students only. Later they opened it up to everyone, and all us old people invaded the young people’s turf. I didn’t request to be friends with our kids or our nieces because I didn’t want them to feel like I was snooping. I decided to let them make the first move. Richard never sent that friend request.

    Debbie likes to go on his profile from time to time. His friends leave comments. It’s important to us to have his Facebook profile stay there.

    But he hasn’t logged on in a long time. Facebook has made many changes and Richard hasn’t been there to respond.

    So we’re worried his profile might be deleted someday. Debbie says that would feel like losing him all over again.

    So we looked for some way to protect his account. And Facebook has something.

    You can memorialize the profile of a deceased loved one. The “wall” remains active, so family and friends (active Facebook friends only) can post to the wall. The account is secured and locked down.

    So we requested to have his account memorialized.

    If you need to do this for someone you love here is the link to the Facebook form:

    http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=deceased

  • Another Brick on the Walk

    Another Brick on the Walk

    We have another Richard brick.

    There’s a nice little park in Frankfort, KY called Cove Spring Park. Way off in the back corner, tucked into the trees, is a beautiful memorial garden sponsored by The Compassionate Friends of Frankfort, KY. At the center of the garden is a raised round flower bed, with a statue in the middle. Paver brick surrounds the flower bed.

    Many of those bricks have names. And dates. One has Richard’s name and his time on earth.

    Sunday they held a brick laying ceremony and a balloon release. There are now more than 100 memorial bricks in that garden. The number of  tears those bricks represent is uncountable.

    After the balloons disappeared from view we enjoyed a potluck style picnic.

    It was nice spending time, enjoying life, laughing and eating with others in TCF. People from all walks of life and different stages in the grief journey, that have become brothers and sisters because of a bond we never wanted to share.

    Click the thumbnail pictures below to see larger images.

  • A Brick In Memory of Richard

    A Brick In Memory of Richard

    After Richard’s death we asked friends and family to make donations in memory of him to a couple of charities.

    Since Richard was an eagle scout the Boy Scouts of America were a natural choice.

    We also chose the WHAS Crusade for Children. The Crusade for Children is a local charity, featuring a weekend long telethon on WHAS 11 TV in Louisville.

    From their website:

    Our Mission

    The WHAS Crusade for Children exists to change the lives of children with special needs in Kentucky and Indiana.

    Our Vision

    To be able to fully fund all grant requests for organizations that provide help to children with special needs.

    Watching your 20-something child struggle with his health is really tough. I think it would be even more devastating to watch a small child fight health problems that will affect most of them for their entire life.

    The Crusade gives them hope.

    My brother Stuart and his wife Lori made a donation to the Crusade. I guess that at a certain level of donation you can have a brick placed on a special memorial sidewalk. Stuart and Lori got a brick for Richard.

    The WHAS Crusade for Children sent us a nice certificate citing this gift and giving us the location of our brick.

    Debbie went today and took a picture of the brick.

    This is a nice way to remember someone you love and help someone that really needs it.

    Thanks Stuart and Lori.