April R. Simanoff, Life Tribute Specialist/ Certified Funeral Celebrant

Dedications, Funerals, Living Tributes, Memorials, Obituaries, Scatterings, Unveilings Celebrant-officiated services are tributes to the deceased, in the style that grieving families define. As your Celebrant, it is my calling to be only a vessel for your vision. I can't even tell you how many people have really regretted opting for a clergy member, after sitting through their dearly beloved's service--where a very obvious presentation of a "cookie cutter" service was made even more impersonal. In these situations, not only was the focus of the content less on the deceased than on the organized religion, but whatever was included was vague and obviously without genuine representation of the life who actually lived and loved. This realization comes after sitting through an In-Sight Institute Celebrant service. My services will include religious ritual and reference, when the family members request that I do so. Celebrant-officiated services highlight the unique personality of the deceased. I do not specifically seek to wash my services of any religious representation, but many of my client families prefer not to project the ritual values of organized religion; they will want me only to highlight God in a more universal appeal. I start with a blank template and the tribute naturally evolves into a vivid and moving image; a story that brings the spirit of your beloved back-to-life. I firmly believe it is how we live that defines each of us, and a service and eulogy should reflect the aura and active contributions, humble or grand, each person has shared while he or she walked the Earth. Every life is precious and everyone is worth remembering beyond the "cookie cutter" funeral or memorial service. Each Celebrant officiated Service is as unique as the loved ones their families hope to pay final and everlasting tribute to. I meet with families for more than an hour, if they need me to sit and listen attentively to the stories that illustrate a vivid and moving picture of how their loved ones lived. I lovingly spend from 8 to 10 hours crafting the one-time service; nothing is recycled in my original literary work about the deceased—other than previously published poetry and quotes, and prayers and songs. In addition, I offer the grieving family the opportunity to have family and friends participate in the precisely choreographed service. I will often make calls to the family members, who are absent during our family meeting, and will continue contact via email and texting, at their convenience. Sometimes, our planning contact is solely by conference calls, but always at the preference and convenience of my client families. Many times I will read letters and other messages from individuals unable to attend the service. Above all, I make it my personal mission to shadow the families I work with, in an effort to offer relief and comfort during this unbelievably wearing time.