PET CEMETERY CIRCUS

JOURNEY JOURNAL... Venice, Florida

An ENDING To Launch A BEGINNING – 

With PAWS, PANTALOONS, and STEAM WHISTLE TUNES

It was a life celebration fit for a king… or, in this case, a dog.

Imagine visiting a cemetery when your companion suddenly beckons you to “look at the clown going by on the road over there.”  One might immediately assume an errant driver was speeding recklessly in this designated zone of quiescence.  

But, no, this was a literal reference to an actual clown rather than the appointment of a derogatory assignation.  For heaven’s sake!  Clowns don’t belong at a cemetery!  Or do they?  

On February 16, 2013, amid hallowed burial grounds at Venice Memorial Gardens, there was no need to admonish anyone with a directive to “quit clowning around.”  In fact, in this milieu that ordinarily invokes subdued reverence, antics and activities common to the Big Top were the order of the day.  Against a backdrop of crypts and columbaria, a circus of sorts “came to town.”

It was a sunny day when the circus theme materialized here to commemorate the life and conduct the burial of a dog named Gizmoe, who had been a cherished companion of one of the funeral directors.  Her interment served as a prelude to the grand opening of the cemetery’s new pet burial section half an hour later.

Photo Source:  Farley Funeral Home - Venice Memorial Gardens Event Announcement

The honored decedent’s pink casket was actually an urn vault utilized for this alternative purpose.

Photo Source:  ICCFA Magazine, Dorothy Snyder Photography 

The fete began with the arrival of a carnival entourage. The adapted casket was on a wagon pulled by a singularly notable pallbearer of the day – Lucky Star, a miniature white horse who later showcased a series of tricks.  Her owner served as the circus ringmaster. Chucko, a former Ringling Brothers clown, played a pivotal role throughout the conjoint event as a prominent figure during the service and grand opening proceedings.  Two grief therapy dogs from the Florida Humane Society – a golden doodle and a long-haired dachshund – were at the rear of the processional.  

Photos Source:  ICCFA Magazine, Dorothy Snyder Photography 

A bone-shaped arrangement of white flowers with pink ribbons and sparkles accoutered the casket.

Photo Source:  ICCFA Magazine, Dorothy Snyder Photography 

The event was open to the public, including canine companions.  Eighty-four humans and sixteen dogs attended the committal service, conducted by two of the cemetery’s funeral directors under a pergola.  Public officials and local media personnel were on hand to glean material for news articles and television documentation.  

Photo Source:  Dorothy Snyder Photography 

The celebrant-led service included references to Gizmoe’s typical behaviors and characteristics.  Individuals who shared her life relayed reminiscent experiences.  A popular poem, “The Rainbow Bridge,” was read, which inspires comfort by alluding to the possibility of pet owners reuniting with their pets once they, too, have died.  Family members released ten pink balloons prior to the release of fifty multi-colored, circus-themed balloons amid a backdrop of relevant musical pieces.  

Photo Source:  ICCFA Magazine, Dorothy Snyder Photography 

Pink rose petals lined the dog’s grave.  After placement of the casket in it, some were also sprinkled on top of it. 

Photo Source:  ICCFA Magazine, Dorothy Snyder Photography 

The distinguished dog’s personality was captured even for her burial.  Because she had been anti-social, two spaces were utilized, with her body facing backward, so no other animal’s body would be buried close to her at a later time.  The plot is located in the section of the cemetery designated for upright markers.  

An unmistakable celebration of life was the order of the day on this occasion when an esteemed pet was laid to rest.  It was accentuated by clowns, calliope background music, balloons, popcorn, snow cones, and cotton candy.

Photos Source:  ICCFA Magazine, Dorothy Snyder Photography 

The theme was maintained throughout the grand opening ceremony that followed Gizmoe’s affair.  Though this type of milieu ordinarily is conspicuously uncommon in a cemetery, if ever a circus would appear on burial grounds anywhere, the Sarasota environs would be a logical place.  It oozes Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey history and is still percolating with the company’s people and artifacts.  Because of its infiltration here, in the ‘40s and ‘50s this epicenter for a popular pastime became known as a circus town.  Accommodations for “The Greatest Show on Earth” included winter headquarters in Sarasota, often motivating personnel and their descendants to establish permanent, lifelong residency here.  A museum now houses an extensive art collection from their world travels as well as circus memorabilia, such as wardrobes, props, and equipment along with newspaper clippings and other documentary accounts. 

So it’s not surprising that authentic performers would be on hand for this special event.  In fact, three circus dynasties – the Espana, Anatasini, and Herriott families – were represented.  Entertainment included a classic spinning plates routine, acrobatics, and spins a la the German wheel and the “steel wheel of destiny.”

Photo Source:  ICCFA Magazine, Dorothy Snyder Photography 

Antics of trained pups were especially germane, given the nature of the occasion. 

Photo Source:  ICCFA Magazine, Dorothy Snyder Photography 

Of course, a festival with this motif called for edible embellishments.  A Venice caterer provided hors d’oeuvres – pizza bites, finger sandwiches, and pigs in a blanket.  A local supermarket made it possible for the canine and feline guests to enjoy treats as well.  

After the main events, people were given an opportunity to tour the grounds in golf carts, which included visits to the pet crematory.  

Photos Source:  Farley Funeral Homes -Venice Memorial Gardens Pet Cemetery Website

Needless to say, this was a distinctive and memorable way to introduce the community to the addition of pet services at this memorial park.  The blueprint that had been conceptualized in response to a current funerary trend had been transformed into a new facility.  

Photo Source:  Farley Funeral Homes -Venice Memorial Gardens Pet Cemetery Website

And in the process of publicizing its availability, the human tendency to feel remarkable affection toward pets had been colorfully accentuated.  

For now, Gizmoe’s headstone dominates the landscape of this heavenly animal kingdom. 

As time passes, the local canine celebrity will have more company within this acre of burial territory. Graves for other animals’ cremated or whole body remains will increasingly appear. 

If an owner wishes to stay close to a beloved pet, human graves adjacent to the pet section can accommodate that wish.  

Services will continue to be conducted under the pergola that serves as the central focal point for the pet burial grounds.
  

Meanwhile, under a headstone remindful of her memorable memorial gala, Gizmoe is resting in peace. 

Content Resources:

ICCFA Magazine: March-April 2013

Gizmoe's Funeral and Headstone

Pet Cemetery and Crematory

Venice Memorial Gardens Pet Services

Farley's Pet Project

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FUNERAL HOME SENSORY STIMULATION

Journey Journal... The Villages, Lady Lake, Florida

"SENSE-SATIONAL" Memorial Services

Never mind the funerary fare!  Even without encountering death management specialists, a visit to this community is enlivening in itself. 

A virginal jaunt through The Villages prompts child-like wonder and supposition that one has entered a Land of Oz.  Within a large shopping plaza along the main access road, golf carts parked in some of the spaces that usually accommodate cars set the stage.  Initially, the clueless newcomer is baffled. These abbreviated vehicles, though, are but a few of many to be seen in this expansive senior living mecca.

Though snow covers the ground floor of most states in the country, here people in early March are seen zooming around town in multi-styled, open-air conveyances, freely unencumbered by winter woolies.  A prominent sign along the road announces that this is “a golf cart community.” 

This town within Lady Lakes territory is purportedly the largest single site development in the United States and the largest gated over-55 community in the world.  In 2014 Forbes magazine ranked it the number one fastest-growing small city in the country.  All of the buildings are consistently fresh, appearing new and pristine.  Every amenity one could imagine is situated within accessible, yet widespread territory, including a golf course and polo field.  A modern high school building has a designated Lifelong Learning wing with a separate entrance; dozens of courses are conducted there as well as at other locations. 

When lifelong learning – and even living – come to a screeching halt, like all of the other local facilities, the building for Hiers-Baxley Funeral Services is conveniently located. 

Here, within a novel venue that’s duplicated in only four other countrywide facilities, a review of an individual’s unique life story can be accentuated by a ShareLife (registered trademark) experience that triggers the senses amid memorial sentiments. 

Expect to be awed once you've passed through the double doors into the gathering room where commemorative services are held in this funeral facility. 

With ceiling projectors activated and through the touch-screen application of an iPad program, a wide, wall-to-wall screen is festooned with a scene that could easily take your breath away… perhaps a state of affairs you’d ordinarily want to avoid in a funeral home!  In this context, though, breathlessness is refreshing. 

Mourners may actually be the ones resting in peace within the soothing environment here.  Senses are gently awakened through sights, sounds, and scents of therapeutically intoxicating stimulants.  Projected portrayals may simply be lovely to look at or they may symbolically showcase a feature of the decedent, thereby epitomizing the concept of a customized life celebration.

The immensity of the visual image alone is transformative.  It is apt to alleviate grievers’ emotional state of internal combustion characteristically ignited in the context of an end-of-life milieu.  Simply by focusing on the broad expanse of this provocative span, one is overtaken by a sense of calm.  Slow-moving transitions from one image to another augment the feeling of serenity.   

When families make arrangements for a service here, they can select from a list of sensory options within package plans.  The array of available video scenes is not included on the facility’s website because of ongoing variations in offerings.  A package for a particular theme may include a few coordinate pictures that change during the service.  

Depictions of autumnal splendor, a coastline, marshland, ocean waves, city landscape, garden, golf course, waterfalls, and forest are among the thematic possibilities. 

The presence of a casket or possibly an ark – a structure designed to carry and showcase an urn – can allude dramatically to the relevance of the captivating panorama as it relates to the individual's life.  

~ Above photos (5) excerpted from Hiers-Baxley promo video ~

Other backgrounds may include patriotic symbols, a sports motif such as fishing on a lake, a church interior, or a kitchen. As a basic alternative to an evocative scene, a mostly blank backdrop that meshes with the three walls in the room can be used instead.  A cross or Star of David may be overlaid as a central focal point.

Imagine being visually immersed in your recently deceased grandma’s typical surroundings, among kitchen appliances that simulate the place where she created her gourmet renderings.  To enhance the effect, a nearby device disseminates the aroma of a freshly baked apple pie, her specialty.  Meanwhile, the country music she always enjoyed while cooking accentuates the characterization of your beloved life companion. 

Like the images, sounds such as chirping birds, crashing waves, or seagulls, and scents such as kitchen aromas, flowers, or seaside salty air, also vary.  Instead of choosing a particular sound effect, folks may prefer to feature musical selections that relate to the deceased individual in some personalized way.  A large photo of the decedent may be superimposed over the scenic image, off to the side.  Alternatively, a tribute video using a family’s collection of photos can be shown there.

~ Photo from Hiers-Baxley promo video ~

The room itself may be altered to suit the desired tone.  When informality is an objective for a service, the chairs arranged in chapel-style straight rows can be moved out of the room and replaced by round tables, chairs, and couches.  These ordinarily are situated in an adjacent room where receptions are held, but they are readily available to heighten the aura of relaxation within the larger space.   

  

In the absence of clergy, a celebrant may officiate at a commemorative service and assist the family in arranging additional details tailored to exemplify a loved one’s persona.   

Funeral homes such as this one can evoke pleasant surprises in a dynamic setting.  Within this one-of-a-kind community known as The Villages, people may choose to arrange for a one-of-a-kind remembrance experience marked by sensuous interaction.  Like the ever-spinning tires on the prolific golf carts in this uncommon hamlet, here at this funeral home the wheels of innovation have been set in motion.  One has only to take a diversionary detour from conventional thoroughfares to discover the realization of a contemporary concept. 

Hiers-Baxley ShareLife

The Villages Website

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ATYPICAL FUNERAL HOME

JOURNEY JOURNAL... Naples, Florida

BUSINESS NOT AS USUAL

If you happen to harbor some reservations about crossing the threshold… of a funeral home, that is, try following in the footsteps of two funeral directors who took the road less traveled – to an office park.  Perhaps the Corporate Square, Suite 1 address of Legacy Options LLC hints at their unconventional undertaking, which was launched in April 2013.

A vision for an alternative approach to funeral care materialized when Michael Whyte and Glenn Witzenburg partnered to operate a “funeral home without a funeral home.”  That is, fundamental operations are streamlined in the compact quarters of a basic office building.  It encompasses crematory, refrigeration, preparation, and identification viewing rooms, as well as a reception area and arrangement room where merchandise is on display.  

Items on two categorized price lists vary according to preferences for either cremation or funeral activities.  A number of casket selections are available and can be seen at:  http://www.legacyoptionsllc.com/Caskets_Photos_997389.html

Without function rooms for visitations and funeral or memorial services, this is not a typical funeral home.  Instead, for such gatherings clients are encouraged to choose facilities in the community, faith-based or otherwise, that either have had significance during the life of the decedent or ones that are simply tranquil or beautiful places for a life celebration. Picture a wedding ceremony at a botanical garden or zoo and then imagine a memorial service in the same setting.  Butterfly and dove releases enhance the effects.  

The premise of the business model for this “Remembrance of Life” enterprise is that lower overhead purportedly enables more affordable pricing, while allowing families to experience more memorable and personalized commemorations outside the confines and constraints of traditional funerary settings.   

Those who adopt this approach are expected to comply with a commitment to make monetary contributions to the non-profit facilities where their events are held.  This “Care Sharing” strategy bespeaks the owners’ mantra of giving back to the community.  The arrangement, dubbed "cashiering," can be a convenient substitute in lieu of floral gifts to the family.   

So if you seek distinctive or unconventional surroundings for a memorial tribute, you may be able to ride a wave of deviations from the norm. 

www.legacyoptionsllc.com/
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