I'm sure this is covered somewhere but just not sure where. What is a nice way to handle the death of a mother of one of our classmates? Should it be listed on the web site, post the obit.? Looking for some thoughts and ideas.
Gary

Gary,
We post the family members as "one of our own", adding the link for the newspaper or funeral home with a point of contact if available. After a few weeks, the information is still on our "Sunshine" page for an indefinite period of time.
It's always nice to pass along an opportunity for others to reach out and try to "make a difference"...We all need a kind word from a friend in a time of need and perhaps a reminder that "but for the Grace of God, there go I..."
Just my "two cents worth"...I am sure that you will get many great ideas from others!
Thoughtfulness is often a rarity in these times, but appreciated more than one might ever know.
("Details" may be left up to the family members, but i post what i can find in the online newspaper, avoiding "gossip",etc. One of those "Golden Rule" things!)

kris

We recently had this happen. During the illness of a spouse, we had a link to the Caring Bridge page for the terminal person. After he passed, we had a note on the home page with a link to the Message Forum for the details. This allowed anyone who wished to send condolences, etc. Our classmate was very appreciative.

Our hometown is small, so in some ways it is easier to keep track of families. But there is a big risk of missing someone.

I put a Care and Concern on our site where I put information. I also will email the class. But in the case of illness, I make sure the person wants that information sent to classmates.

Recently the father of a classmate died, another parent was hospitalized after having serious surgery, and a classmate who has health issues is recovering in a nursing home from 2 broken legs. (Her husband emailed me using the site.)

It's best to have a couple of people letting your know if there needs to be an email about someone in the class or from a classmate's family.
K

Gary Smith wrote:

I put a "Condolences to **** on the loss of his/her mother" with a white rose icon on the Announcement Box. I also add a notice to our Message Board under Care and Concern...still not many go there. Bonita

Goodness, you are 5 years older than we are. You would have to be posting an obit every week if you posted parents. I do like having a condolence page though. Is there a way anyone could add to this with admin approval? I think it will be hard to keep up with since there are 240 of us in our early 60's. Hard enough just to keep up with the deaths of our own classmates. Maybe ask classmates to submit anything they want to the condolence page. I saw where someone's mother died recently and did nothing other than my own personal note of sympathy. But unless I am notified I would miss most parents. I don't want to just post some therefore I think having a page others can add to seems a good idea.

I post an announcement on the home page if a classmate's parent passes. I also post the picture of the book and link the copy of the obit and a copy of the guestbook. Several classmates have taken the opportunity to post in the guestbook. We have a sunshine committee in place that sends a sympathy card to the classmate. The card has the class flower on it. If a classmate passes we do the same, but we also send a single red rose to the funeral home with condolances from the class. And a card is sent to the family from the class. We also make a donation in the classmates name to the organization that they requested. We have had 4 classmates pass this year alone. And it's only been 37 years!

Lots of great ideas. Thanks to everyone who responded..

I usually send an email for illness or death of a parent. I also add the snail mail so the classmates can send a card. We know who doesn't mind the posting beforehand. Over a period of 6 weeks this summer 4 of our class lost their mothers, I was one and someone else took over there and with a classmate's death. But always give them an alternative address so they don't have to go looking for how to contact. I Know, we have the website, but many people (at our age) will forget to go look it up.
Lara