Funeral services
A personal service at the funeral home, church or chapel, written around your loved one's life.
Funerals, celebrations of life & memorial services
A ceremony as individual as the person you're remembering, planned with you so you don't have to carry it alone.
Memorial services and funerals serve a number of purposes. They give us the chance to say goodbye and offer an opportunity for friends and family to gather together to start the journey through the grieving process. The process of creating such an important celebration of someone’s life can be overwhelming–especially if you are planning the ceremony while you are grieving. To help, many people now turn to a funeral celebrant or funeral officiant.
Personalizing a funeral or memorial service is the very best way to honor your loved one. I can help. I am a professional who works with the family to design a personalized funeral or memorial ceremony. My role is to make sure that the ceremony reflects the deceased’s personality, culture, values, and wishes.
Ways I can help
Every family's needs are different. Call or text to talk about what you have in mind and for pricing.
Celebrations of life
A warmer, often less formal gathering at a home, venue or favorite place, with stories and music as well as tears.
Memorial services
A service held days, weeks or months later, whenever your family is ready.
Graveside & committal services
A short, meaningful service at the cemetery, on its own or after a chapel service.
Scattering & interment of ashes
Words for the moment you scatter or lay ashes to rest, at the coast, the mountains, a garden or a family plot.
Planning your own service
Record your wishes and stories now, so your family doesn't have to guess.
Plan aheadEvery service includes
- Family time to learn their story
- A life story and tribute written and delivered by Jayne
- Help choosing music, poems and readings
- Religious, spiritual or non-religious, as you wish
- Help with programs and keepsakes
- Working alongside your funeral home and venue
- A ceremony within the time-frame and budget you set
How it works
Call or text
Tell me a little about your loved one, and the date, time and place if you know them.
Family time
A critical aspect of a celebrant’s services is to spend “family time” upfront gathering information about the deceased. I want to know as much as possible, since the goal is to create a ceremony that truly reflects the individual.
I write the ceremony
I write the tribute and the order of service, with the music, readings and anyone you'd like to speak.
You review it
Read it through and change anything you like until it feels right.
The service
I lead the service with care, working alongside the funeral home and the people taking part.
Faith, spirituality, or neither
While religion is still an important consideration, these days, many people look for secular ways to reflect the person’s complete life. That means most modern funerals incorporate remembrances of hobbies, interests, and passions that are outside of religion. Using a celebrant or an officiant that is not affiliated with a particular church can be a good option for someone who would like to have a religious service but doesn’t belong to a church. If you would like to skip religion but add some spiritual aspects, a celebrant can help. The bottom line is, people have a wide variety of needs and desires when it comes to how they want to express religious views, if at all. Discuss your religious preferences with your celebrant to ensure that the ceremony reflects your wishes.
My mom and dad’s celebration of life was amazingly beautiful. Jayne didn’t miss a single detail. She told their life’s story from the decade they were born to their meeting, marriage, immigration, family, later years, and death. The perfect music and poems were chosen, she created elegant programs, and made take home mementos that spoke to my parents’ personalities. She couldn’t have honored my parents more sincerely and perfectly. My siblings and I are grateful from the bottom of hearts for the love and attention to which she put into the memorial. Thank you Jayne, you exceeded our expectations! With love, the Lotufo children <3
In closing, to be a celebrant is to be open to the pain and difficulties in life, and, even, to have suffered a broken heart a few times. We show our love for the world through our work. Please contact me so that I may help you honor your family member in a joyous and special celebration of their life.
When you're ready, I'm here
Call or send a message any day between 7 am and 9 pm. We can talk through what you need, with no obligation.