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When Brenda Beals was preparing her husband's funeral last week, she faced an unexpected question:
Did she want his service shown live on the Internet?
"My first thought - we grew up traditional - was 'Oh, my,'" Beals said. "Then I thought, 'Why not? Everything else now is automated and e-mail.' "
It turned out to be a good idea.
One of her sons-in-law, a weapons specialist with the Navy stationed in Guam, couldn't come back for the ceremony. But he could watch it on his computer.
Graham Funeral Home began offering the choice of online funeral services three weeks ago. Five of its 13 services since then have gone online, said Scott Stroud, manager of the funeral home. Odell Beals' was the fourth.
The Web camera and other equipment cost less than $2,000, Stroud said, so Graham charges nothing for the option.
"We're all about service - that's all we have to sell," said Steve Zittle, a funeral director at Graham. "It used to be 20, 30 years ago, service in this area meant bringing chairs to the house. Service now means, Can I take advantage of the technological advances?"
Online ceremonies are the latest technological advance in an industry that has gone to Web sites, online condolences and memorial DVDs in the past decade.
More..
http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=136678&ran=41484
Did she want his service shown live on the Internet?
"My first thought - we grew up traditional - was 'Oh, my,'" Beals said. "Then I thought, 'Why not? Everything else now is automated and e-mail.' "
It turned out to be a good idea.
One of her sons-in-law, a weapons specialist with the Navy stationed in Guam, couldn't come back for the ceremony. But he could watch it on his computer.
Graham Funeral Home began offering the choice of online funeral services three weeks ago. Five of its 13 services since then have gone online, said Scott Stroud, manager of the funeral home. Odell Beals' was the fourth.
The Web camera and other equipment cost less than $2,000, Stroud said, so Graham charges nothing for the option.
"We're all about service - that's all we have to sell," said Steve Zittle, a funeral director at Graham. "It used to be 20, 30 years ago, service in this area meant bringing chairs to the house. Service now means, Can I take advantage of the technological advances?"
Online ceremonies are the latest technological advance in an industry that has gone to Web sites, online condolences and memorial DVDs in the past decade.
More..
http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=136678&ran=41484
