YOURSELF Keeping Loved Ones’Legacies Alive (NAPSA)—Throughouthistory, people have sought ways to honor lost loved ones. People who lose a loved one often find solace in attending memorial services where they can share their grief— as well as stories and experiences—with fellow mourners. MeeNee)eeere Today, however, an increasing numberof people are also finding fellowship and emotional comfort on the Internet, where online memorials are proving a popular new way to commemorate and remember those who have passed. While travel time and costs can makeit difficult for everyone to attend a funeral service, online memorials enable survivors to honor their loved ones in completely customized, highly personal ways and to share these legacies instantly with friends and family around the world. Borrowing from the interactive appeal of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, Web-based memorialization portals such as Legacy.com enable users to combine biographical information with cherished photographs, and even video and audio clips, in unique ways to honor and Online memorials offer highly personal ways to honor loved ones and share legacies with friends and family. remember those who have passed. Such sites allow visitors to log condolences, thoughts and memories into online Guest Books. The sites provide a place where people going through oneoflife’s most difficult experiences can come to celebrate the lives of their loved ones, share their thoughts, find comfort and begin to heal. Toward that end, some sites feature a rich assortment of expert advice from leading educators, authors, grief counselors and psychologists on topics related to grief andloss. Visitors can also share experiences or seek and offer support through community discussions and message boards. Other features of the top online memorialization sites include: Searchable obituaries enabling people to find news of lost loved ones via online databases of recorded deaths. Customized e-mail alerts that automatically notify users of the deaths of former friends, colleagues and associates. Links to funeral home Web sites, charities and organizations where visitors can easily make memorial donations. * Celebrity tributes including timely information about the deaths of movie and TVstars, public officials, and business, philanthropic and civic leaders. Special memorials honoring the lives of those lost during events that affected the entire country, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 9/11 and the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University. For more information, visit www.Legacy.com.
