memorial book for my stepson...

Dec '15 Shygypsy

My stepson passed away unexpectedly; he was 27. The coroner gave us a date of Nov 19 as the day that he passed (which is his dad's birthday). He was found at his apartment by his mom on Monday, Nov 23rd. He is her only child....

She doesn't scrapbook. I have only been in the family for about 5 years, but am wanting to do something special for her. I have never made a memorial book and was wanting to get some insight and ideas of what to do.

I have come to these boards lately to help distract my mind, even for a few minutes, from all of the sadness in our home. Now, I wish to ask for help in making a book that will hopefully bring her some sort of comfort in the years to come.

Thank you for any and all input.
akiko....
Dec '15 Scrappy_day

First and most importantly, I am very sorry for your loss.

If you have any pictures of him, I would just scrapbook those as you normally would. At the end of the book you could put the obit or anything from the funeral.

It would be an easy task to create this. But it might help the healing process for you as well.

And I am sure his mother will cherish it however you decide to do the book.
Dec '15 Henri Jean (Ocala, Florida)

RE: Scrappy_day: First and most importantly, I am very sorry for your loss. If you have any pictures of him, I would just scrapbook those as you normally would. At the end of the book you could put the obit or anything from the funeral. It would be an easy task to create this. But it might help the healing process for you as well. And I am sure his mother will cherish it however you decide to do the bo...

I am so sorry, I just can't imagine loosing a child.

I have no advice but do want to say this is a wonderful thing you are doing and I know she will treasure it.
Dec '15 MarciLB

RE: Henri Jean (Ocala, Florida): I am so sorry, I just can't imagine loosing a child. I have no advice but do want to say this is a wonderful thing you are doing and I know she will treasure it.

So VERY sorry for your loss. I am sorry to say that I have a little experience with this as we lost my brother to a brain tumor 12 years ago-his twin sons were 11 1/2 at the time....I actually couldn't do it for a long time and I couldn't work on it at home...so when we went out scrapping about 2 yrs after has passed, I started working on twin books to give them when they graduated college.....what I did 1st was make a loose table of contents for myself....the very 1st page is a collage of 33 pictures cut into 2x2 squares-a huge variety then->... baby, growing up, school, "special childhood memories (we used to play the beatles, and he caught a shark for example), family, friends, girls, business, marriage, babies, being a dad, travels (he owned a travel agency) found a series of funny face pics and made a 2 pager of that, the time of his illness ...just examples for you...
I made the 2 books over about a 5 year period...they graduated college last year but both got jobs out of state and had to go right away and asked me to hold them.....I am very close to them...
My goal is a bit different then yours since the recipients were young boys at the time...I want them to know , to "feel" their dad when they look through their books...

Its a labor of love...best wishes...thinking of your family at this sad time......
Dec '15 Shygypsy

RE: MarciLB: So VERY sorry for your loss. I am sorry to say that I have a little experience with this as we lost my brother to a brain tumor 12 years ago-his twin sons were 11 1/2 at the time....I actually couldn't do it for a long time and I couldn't work on it at home...so when we went out scrapping about 2 yrs after has passed, I started working on twin books to give them when they graduated college.....wha...

Marci,

Thank you for your reply. While reading your post, I thought of the song..."strawberry fields". His dad told me that he played that song as Syd was being delivered and as he was cutting the cord. It gave me the idea to incorporate the the lyrics in the book. Thanks to facebook, we have posts where Syd linked songs to it. Maybe I can also use some of them as well.

As for time frame, I have less than a year to complete it. Syd's mom has a p.o. box that she will keep for one year. She told me that I can send her mail there. I don't know if I will be able to get in touch with her after that. She is not close to her family so that is not an option.
Dec '15 Shygypsy

RE: Henri Jean (Ocala, Florida): I am so sorry, I just can't imagine loosing a child. I have no advice but do want to say this is a wonderful thing you are doing and I know she will treasure it.

Henri...
Thank you for your kind words.

akiko
Dec '15 Joanie R

RE: Shygypsy: Henri... Thank you for your kind words. akiko

I made a memorial scrapbook once for a woman who's husband passed away unexpectedly. We talked about how she wanted it to look. They were married for 25+ years. The book I did just encapsulated the highlights of their married life. She didn't scrapbook and didn't want her photos to be in a shoebox anymore. She also had little mementos and notes from him that I put in it. I did not know this woman from Adam, but worked in a lss which gave me the opportunity to help her. She loved the end result. It was just what she imagined it would be and more.
When the time is right, I would talk to his father and relatives. You'll be able to find photos and stories and possibly mementos to put in the album. It's not something that can be done quickly. Everyone is probably still processing the whole thing.
I'm so sorry for your family's loss. May your hearts heal soon.
Dec '15 Shygypsy

RE: Joanie R: I made a memorial scrapbook once for a woman who's husband passed away unexpectedly. We talked about how she wanted it to look. They were married for 25+ years. The book I did just encapsulated the highlights of their married life. She didn't scrapbook and didn't want her photos to be in a shoebox anymore. She also had little mementos and notes from him that I put in it. I did not know this ...

Joanie,

How wonderful of you to help this person in such a manner!!! I am sure she will always remember this act of kindness. Thank you for your kind words as well. It is much appreciated.

akiko
Dec '15 Joanie R

RE: Shygypsy: Joanie, How wonderful of you to help this person in such a manner!!! I am sure she will always remember this act of kindness. Thank you for your kind words as well. It is much appreciated. akiko

Anytime!