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Purpose

Preserving a memory in the mind can become cloudy over time, and it is nice to be able to look back at old memories with fresh clarity. Unfortunately, the cost of burial and grave stones is a tremendous burden on the average person. The economy is dying, the natural resources perishing, and there are just too many people to bury. Less space is available for the living, and even less space for those who have departed. A virtual graveyard resolves this dilemma.

Another benefit of a virtual graveyard is the beauty of online images. Let us be honest… a real graveyard is gloomy, grim, and—well, it’s simply a grave feeling to be standing in one. Virtual graveyard worlds preserve the colorful life force of the deceased. A virtual graveyard is a place to display the love, happiness, and good memories of someone who has passed away. A colorful picture (not a grim slab of stone) makes looking back at the past a happy and cherishing thought. After all, your loved ones do not want you to mourn over them. They’re in a better place (so why would you want to go to a grave place?). Also, spending so much money on the deceased is honestly hurtful to the living, and the community at large. Generations have to preserve the graves, and eventually land must be moved.  

Methods

There are myriad ways to place the memory of a loved one in to a virtual graveyard. You can pay for it… or you can build it yourself (Guess which option I recommend).

Obviously, there’s an advantage to building your own online memorial or grave, but there’s also drawbacks. For one thing, you have to maintain the memorial or grave’s website. If you pass away, the site eventually gets removed from the hosting service. The benefit of paying for a virtual grave is the online community. An online or virtual community will take care of your virtual grave or virtual memorial. Such online sanctuaries for the departed include parents of soldiers lost in war. The body of the deceased loved one may not be available for burial, and virtually displaying the honor of a deceased soldier or veteran is a wonderful way of showing respect and love.

Virtual graveyards can be created at any length of time you are willing to spend working on the design.

If you want to leave a will or simply display a parting memory, Parting Wishes has an organization for online memorials.

Procedure

Start up your computer. Grab some old photographs of the dearly departed, and scan the images to your computer (or use digital photographs). Select which images you like. Save the images in a file folder. Give the folder a name, such as “In memory of Johnny” or “My beloved wife”. You will use these pictures to build a collage of memories.

Create a head stone or virtual gravestone. Make it colorful, and not grim. Choose the best picture, a smiling face, and paste the image into a word document or graphic software. Center the image. Pick your favorite font/ text style, or a font that represents the personal taste of the departed. Now, write a phrase regarding the departed, and place this below the image. Next, write the name or initials of the departed above the image. Save the file. If you’re using a word file, you can convert the file to an image any time by accessing the “Save as” option from the File drop-down menu (or screen capture by pressing Control + print screen on the keyboard).

Creating a Simple Online Memorial

Open Note Pad on your computer. Type the following code on to the page:

In Memory of (name of deceased)

(Type a phrase or some words that describe the departed, and why they are special to you or someone else).

Now, save the file as “departed.html”. Ensure that you change the file’s extension to .html or it will remain a text document. Upload the file to your web site, and you’ve got a simple virtual memorial.

Keep in mind that this is a simplistic example. The virtual memorial or graveyard can be as fancy as you like. It all depends on your level of skill, the software you use, or whether you hire someone professional to design your virtual grave. What is important is that you establish a meaningful memory of your departed that you can look back at anytime, and share with others. Everyone, no matter who they are, has a story to tell about someone they’ve lost to death.

Best wishes to your virtual memorial, and peace be with you.