When a loved one passes on, we want to remember them fondly but also honor who they were. Formal funeral and memorial services provide good opportunities for such remembrances but with a little creativity, we can plan ceremonies that showcase their lives and passions, motivating mourners to share stories and fond anecdotes about them.
For a woodworker or carpenter, professional or hobbyist, creating a memorable event that highlights who they were should not be difficult.
Beginning with the formal service, consult a concordance for the appropriate sacred text–Old and New Testament of the Bible, the Koran and no doubt others—for passages that honor the ancient skills of a carpenter. Woodworking is an ancient calling. Particularly for Christians, many contemporary music selections refer to Jesus as a carpenter. For less formal gatherings, those who remember the folk era fondly will enjoy John Prine’s “Grandpa was a Carpenter” and “If I were a Carpenter,” popularized by Bobby Darin and many others.
The best way to honor the woodworker is to showcase their work. A photo album of them at work in their shop as well as a picture gallery of their furniture and home projects. Collect their work for a display at the reception: the cradle for the first grandchild, the lamp from high school shop class that still stands on the end table they made for a wedding gift, wooden toys and doll furniture they lovingly made for their children, the boxes of blocks or Lincoln logs they made one holiday season for all the cousins. Don’t forget the smaller pieces, too—the beautifully turned vase, the wall plaque adorned with wood-burning-tooled family quotes, the clever little boxes crafted of exotic wood.
If they have a pile of woodworking magazines, put them out for mourners to take home as keepsakes; perhaps choose one and have folks sign the pages with memories in addition to a guest book. Most woodworkers have a library of plans for “someday” projects—bring out the sheets for the kayak they never got to make or for the cabinet with shelves they built for the family bookworm.
Continue the carpentry theme in serving pieces for refreshments after the formal event. Wooden spoons, wooden bowls, trays, a napkin holder—these need not have been made by your woodworker. Use a few well-worn hand tools as decorations—the screwdriver that was always in their back pocket, the hammer with the paint long worn from the handle, the old level saved from their grandfather’s shop.
For an unusual memorial gift to mourners, check out the Arbor Day Foundation for tiny saplings of trees you can distribute, a living reminder of your loved one and a symbol that life goes on. Local nurseries might also be able to provide these little seedlings.
With a little planning, brainstorming with family members and friends, and a bit of creativity, you can design a service to memorialize and honor your loved one.
