A Memorial Book is a heartfelt way to honour and remember a loved one who has passed away.  It typically includes a collection of stories and messages from family and friends, preserving their memory for generations to come.

Once you have chosen your preferred Memorial Book cover design, your Funeral Planner will organise the rest for you and manage the Memorial Book throughout the service. At Tobin Brothers, we provide an easy to use booklet of sheets for guests to sign at your chosen points in the service. We then adhere these sheets to your chosen Memorial Book cover at the conclusion of your service for you to keep as a memento.

The Memorial Book can be written in whenever you choose.  You might want to have it only at the service, offered for guests to sign and leave their message upon arrival. Or, you may have it at the Rosary, Committal, or another part of your service, depending on what you have arranged. You may decide to only use it as a part of the funeral service, or you may choose to incorporate other activities into your memorial book, such as adding your own photos and notes, or revisiting it on special anniversaries. There is no right or wrong way to use a Memorial Book and how you choose to do so is entirely up to you.

The design and materials will depend on your choice of Memorial Book. Currently, we have Memorial Books made out of a range of fabrics and materials, including vinyl, linen, lace, cotton, and leather.

You could create your own memorial book if you wish; however, due to the effort on your part and potential for delay, we don’t recommend it. We offer Memorial Books to make the funeral process easier for our client families, with a range of high quality designs to choose from. Because we have them on hand, you can view them during your arrangement meeting and there is no concern regarding quality or delivery times. Please advise your Funeral Planner if you do decide you would like to create your own Memorial Book.

There are a number of ways to leave a heartfelt message in a Memorial Book, and what you choose to do is a personal decision based on your personality and your relationship with the deceased. Some ideas you could consider include:

Expressing Feelings

Whether you feel the need to express your sadness at the loss of a loved one, or share your sympathy for their friends and family, expressing your feelings is a nice contribution to the Memorial Book that the family can reflect on for time to come. The following are some phrases which might help you to create a meaningful Memorial Book message.

“My deepest condolences to the McMahon family.”
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of Jean, and wish to extend my heartfelt sympathy to her family.”
“Rolf was a dear friend of mine, and I am sad that he is no longer with us.”

Offering Support

Again, this might depend on your relationship with the deceased’s family, but if you are in a position to offer support and are willing to follow up on it, it can be a very kind gesture indeed. Some phrases that can show your willingness to help are as follows.

“My thoughts are with you at this time. Please let me know if I can do anything to help.”
“I am thinking of you and sending my love.”
“Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you need anything at all.”
“I am keeping the Jacobson family in my prayers.”

A Quote or Poem

A quote or a poem can be a touching tribute to a loved one, and can help us to translate our emotions into words, especially when it is most difficult to fully express how we feel. There is no harm in leaving it to the greatest minds in history when it comes to finding the right words for a Funeral Memorial Book. We have collated a selection of short quotes that you could consider using for a Memorial Book tribute.

"Those we hold closest to our hearts never truly leave us. They live on in the kindness they have shared and the love they brought into our lives."  – Unknown
"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." – Helen Keller
"Grief is the last act of love we have to give to those we loved. Where there is deep grief, there was great love." – Unknown
"The song is ended, but the melody lingers on." –Irving Berlin
"Life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight." – Rossiter Raymond
"When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure." – Unknown
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." – Helen Keller
"To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die." – Thomas Campbell
"In the garden of memory, in the palace of dreams, that is where you and I shall meet." – Lewis Carroll
"Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear." – Unknown
"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." – Thomas Campbell
"When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that, in truth, you are weeping for that which has been your delight." – Kahlil Gibran

The same can be said for prose and poems by the great authors and philosophers who are famous for capturing the most complex emotions and translating it gracefully into written word. The following is a list of authors who have been known to write about love, death, loss, and grief, who you can research to find words that resonate with your experience.

• Emily Dickinson
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Walt Whitman
• John Donne
• Sylvia Plath
• Robert Frost
• T.S. Eliot
• William Cullen Bryant
• Rumi
• Langston Hughes

See our blog Sympathy and Loss Quotes: Finding the Right words for Funerals for more information and examples of quotes and poems used for funerals.

Sharing a Memory

Sharing a story or beloved memory can be a touching and truly personal tribute to your loved one, and something that their family and friends may enjoy discovering about them. It should go without saying that your choice of story to share should be respectful and appropriate to all audiences, as a Memorial Book is not the place to share wild anecdotes or embarrassing memories without context or care. The memory you share could be a defining moment, or a simple experience you had with the person, but others will appreciate the opportunity to see their loved one through another’s eyes and hear about the impact they had on others in their life. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• The moment you met
• One time that they surprised you
• An example of their character
• An endearing quality of theirs
• Something they were proud of
• A reason you loved/looked up to/thought highly of them
• Something else that the family might like to know

Again, whatever you choose to write in a Memorial Book is personal to you and should reflect the person you are remembering and the relationship you had with them.

Be sure to keep it simple. While a few words more than just your signature would be appreciated, there’s no need to write an essay in order to get your message across. A short, concise message that is not overly emotional and is respectful to others can convey a great deal of meaning, and is a fitting tribute for a Memorial Book.