Meaningful ways to remember your loved one
When someone we love dies, we may want to celebrate their memory. Choosing memorials that fit their legacy and the values they held can be a good way of helping you and others grieve for them.
Here are some ideas for ways to remember a loved one after they’ve died.
Plant a tree or flower
If you or a friend or family member has a garden, you could choose to plant your loved one’s favourite tree or perennial flower in their memory. Watching it grow and blossom every year can be a truly life-affirming way of celebrating how much they meant to you - especially if they had a green thumb. Lots of people choose rose bushes as memorial flowers because of their beautiful blooms and fragrance - creating a perfect atmosphere for sitting and remembering.
Choose a place to remember them
Choosing a plaque for a bench at a favourite beauty spot, or even a stone outside their team’s football ground, can be a lovely way to publicly remember your loved one. It also gives you and other people who miss them a place to visit and reminisce. Many local attractions or beauty spots offer ways for you to memorialise a loved one, or you can ask your local council about how to arrange a public bench.
Create a virtual tribute
An online Tribute Fund is a wonderful way to create a simple, beautiful webpage where you and friends and family can come to share stories, memories and photographs, as well as raise money for charity in their honour. Age UK Tribute Funds are quick and easy to set up - and you can celebrate the life of your loved one while helping to support people in later life.
Offer ongoing support for their favourite cause
If you’d like to do something longer-lasting to support a charitable organisation in your loved one’s memory, setting up a regular gift is a great choice. Every month, you make a donation to a special cause - how much is up to you. If there’s a charity that particularly supported your loved one towards the end of their life, it can be a great comfort to you to know you’re able to ‘give back’ on their behalf. Lots of people choose to give regular donations to Age UK because they’ve seen how difficult later life can be and want to help us continue to be there for other older people.
Why donate in memory?
I gave to Age UK in memory of my Grandma
‘I hope the funds can go to help elderly people like her live their best life.’
We wanted to give back
‘When my mother-in-law passed away we wanted to give back to a charity who supported her when she needed it most.’
Give a gift to help others
A charitable donation in memory of your loved one is a lovely way of letting their kindness live on. By making a one-off donation to Age UK in memory of someone special, you’ll be helping to make sure more we can provide the information, support and friendship many vulnerable older people are relying on.
