New technology helps in the mourning process
May 31, 2012, 7:29 AM | Updated: Jun 4, 2012, 10:34 pm
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — New technology such as Facebook and video streaming are playing an essential part in helping people overcome the death of a loved one.
Many funeral homes offer the option to stream a funeral service live online.
“We have people in the military, or relatives and friends who live overseas, or we have had people who are ill,” said Nancy Keil, manager of Messinger Mortuaries in Scottsdale. “All of them can’t be there or can’t afford to travel.”
Keil said her funeral home has offered video-streaming services for nearly eight years.
But as technology has improved, in the past two to three years Keil has been able to offer the service regularly. The funeral home also offers to place the recorded funeral service on its webpage for a month.
Keil explained one of its more popular services is a video projector to share a montage of the deceased during the service. However, she isn’t sure if her funeral home will go beyond what they are already doing with technology.
“We are being bombarded with information constantly from computers and smartphones,” she said. “I think our thought is that when people come in to a funeral home, it should be a break from all of that.”
A Texas company called LifeMarker is putting QR codes on the back of urns and headstones. When scanned with a smartphone, photos of that loved one appear onscreen.
