We have a classmate whose sister passed away. Has anyone put that on their Home Page, if so what and how did you word it? What to be sensitive but not over doing it.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Gary

I have a multi year site and I just cannot send that many emails. We have a section on the message board devoted to this and people can subscribe to the notified if they are interested. We reserve death of an alumni to be sent out as a blast.

Hi Gary,
We've had a few classmates that have recently lost siblings, some unexpectedly. Many of our class knew these individuals, but even if they didn't, I felt it necessary to let others have the chance to send condolences or make a phone call,etc. I also do this when I read about a parent who has passed away.
To keep it short and to the point, a note stating the loss of said family member, along with a rose and a point of contact, usually the link to the funeral home or a link to the obituary in the paper, online seems to at least pass along the chance to reach out to the hurting family members.
It usually reads something like this..."Deepest condolences to X and family for the loss of Y on suchnsuch date. Details can be found at localnewssite. Condolences may be sent to Zfuneralhome (with the link posted)"
If nothing else, I hope someone realizes that we all need each other in times of loss and we never know when it may be us in need of a friendly gesture.
Sorry about the babbling answer...go with what's intuitively in your heart.

kris

On the left side of our site we have Care and Concern. I post things there such as a severe accident, illness or death. But I also send an email...

Subject: A Sad Note...

I usually rewrite part of the obituary and then include an address if there is not one in the newspaper.
Example:
Bill Vest's mother, Sarah, passed away yesterday. Mrs. Vest and her family celebrated her 90th birthday on Sunday night. On Tuesday she left a message for Bill to come to her house and that she needed help. She was sitting on the couch when he arrived, but was not responding. She passed away a few hours later.

The arrangements have not been made public, although the visitation will be at Lytle's Mortuary.

Bill and his mother were great companions and did many things together. Mrs. Vest was a stylish, spry lady who always had a smile on her face. Her family grieves at her loss, but is thankful that her passing was quiet and peaceful.

Another example---
Karen Ferguson Risk called me to let me know Delbert Read's mother passed away over the week-end. I have included the obiturary. I am sorry that I missed letting you know the information before the funeral.

Also, Karen's mother just completed surgery for knee replacement. Her mother is such a sweetheart. Please keep Mrs. Ferguson and Karen in your thoughts and prayers.

Delbert Read
10400 N East Front
Dupont, Indiana 47231
Wilma Read

Wilma Heath Read, 84, of Dupont, died Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, in Scipio.

She was born July 27, 1925, in Bartholomew County, the daughter of Samuel Herman and Florence Pearl Corya Heath. She was raised in Hope and was a graduate of Columbus High School. She was a member of Dupont United Methodist Church in Dupont. She enjoyed farming and had farmed all of her life. She also enjoyed flowers, her garden, animals, being outdoors and being on the farm. She was a supporter of the Dupont and Lancaster volunteer fire departments. She enjoyed baking pies for the fire house.

She is survived by three daughters, Ginny Brooks of Scipio, Peggy Sieg of Plainfield and Gloria Marsh of Commiskey; three sons, Scott Read, Delbert Dale Read and Curtis Read, all of Dupont; one brother, Paul Heath of Poway, Calif.; 10 grandchildren; eight step grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; 12 step great-grandchildren; three step great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews and other relatives.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Guy Samuel Read, whom she married Aug. 11, 1946; one daughter, Marsha Lynn Read; her parents; one brother, Herman Albert Heath; and one grandson.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Dupont United Methodist Church. Burial will be in Dupont Cemetery.

Friends may call at Morgan & Nay Funeral Centre on Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. and at the church Thursday from 10 a.m. until the service.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations to Dupont United Methodist Church. Contribution cards are available at the funeral home.

Online condolences can be sent at www.morgan-nay.com.

We have had many instances about which I have felt I should inform the class. At times I feel bad that I sending such sad news. But classmates seem to appreciate knowing the information. K

Gary,

Coincidentally, we just started a page that will accommodate a situation such as yours.

I'll leave password protection off for a day so you can see it (http://www.mfhsclassof62.com/class_custom5.cfmg). Eventually, we'll add some graphics and music, but it's a start.

We "borrowed" the idea from someone else, but I can't recall where.

Bob

Bob Dahms wrote:

I like your solution, Bob. In general, we list the death of a classmate as an announcement on the home page for 30 days; do not list death or health issues of spouses, children, etc.

Another solution might be to add a thread in your Forums for Prayer Requests so that individuals can add their own requests and make comments on the requests of others.

Gary,

Your heart is in the right place so you could say whatever feels right.

We put our first condolence up for a few days just a week ago when a classmate's brother died. At the same time another classmate was in a serious car accident so we included that information. I used a "Classmate Concerns" heading and plan to use it again when necessary--put it close to the top where people would see it without scrolling. The wording went something like this. 'Our deepest sympathy is extended to Classmate Name who is traveling this week to the funeral of her brother Name. He passed away on Date after a long illness. The funeral will be Date." Since she was registered, her contact information was on her profile. I think she appreciated knowing that she was in our thoughts. And for many, in our prayers, though privately. I didn't add which Mortuary was making the arrangements, but if your class is close, classmates may want to know that information if you have it.

Hope this helps,
Donna

I see now, that we borrowed it from Madison. Thanks Karen.

Footnote. We are fortunate to have a retired minister classmate, who has agreed to shepherd this area of our site. He also makes personal calls to the family on our behalf and will be handling invocation at the reunion as well as an ecumenical service that weekend.

We put on the home page:
We are sorry to announce that so and so's mother has passed away, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. I add the picture of the guestbook with a link on it with just the words: "To view copy of the obituary". Sometimes I add another picture of the book and link the guestbook to it with "to sign guestbook". I only leave it up until the funeral is over. If it is a classmate I leave it up one week.