Sadly, my client passed away before her planned family reunion. Family members and relatives would now be traveling from Michigan to her funeral in Tennessee, not her envisioned reunion. Unfortunately, my focus shifted from planning her reunion to consoling her sister whom I’d grown to know via our correspondence.
I walked into a filled funeral home on the evening of the visitation. I only knew my client, no clue who family was. No one person stood out; she could have been anyone in the room. I began looking for anyone who resembled my client. I observed several ladies hugging and crying. Is one of them her sister or her mother? I noticed a group of women about her age. Is her sister in that group?
Clueless, I approached a group of associates hoping they could point out the sister. They did not know she had a sister, asking me "Is her mother here?" Frustrated, I left unable to console the immediate family, with hopes to find them at the morning funeral.
The following morning, in a crowded chapel, a woman walked up to the pulpit. She stated: “This letter was written by my sister". I was shocked, sad and angry. I had seen that same woman a day prior at the visitation, standing all alone on the porch of the funeral home. No one knew who she was, nor did she know anyone present either. She grieved alone.
My mind was racing. How did this happen? How could this be possible? This situation is so incredibly sad. This is not the time for the immediate family to introduce themselves. Visitors should not feel overwhelmed trying to figure out who is who and who to console. That is where the concept of Kin-Soul™ began. And that is when I learned, others had stories similar to mine. A Funeral, Memorial or Celebration of Life is a time for the living to gather to express admiration and easily pay respect while consoling the immediate family. Kin-Soul™ was developed to silently identify the immediate family of the deceased, proudly worn in honor of their loved one. No longer will a grandmother quietly sit while visitors are unaware of who she is. No longer will anyone have to stress over guessing who the family is or stand next to a grieving son unaware.
While developing Kin-Soul™ I have learned just how much compassion, care and dedication the funeral industry has for those they serve.
I want to thank those individuals in the industry that provided me input in the development of Kin-Soul™, along with the many stories and reasons why they support Kin-Soul™. And thank you to many more funeral industry professionals who each day provide Kin-Soul™.
Kimberly Urosek Honeycutt
Kin-Soul Founder
kimberly@kin-soul.com
I walked into a filled funeral home on the evening of the visitation. I only knew my client, no clue who family was. No one person stood out; she could have been anyone in the room. I began looking for anyone who resembled my client. I observed several ladies hugging and crying. Is one of them her sister or her mother? I noticed a group of women about her age. Is her sister in that group?
Clueless, I approached a group of associates hoping they could point out the sister. They did not know she had a sister, asking me "Is her mother here?" Frustrated, I left unable to console the immediate family, with hopes to find them at the morning funeral.
The following morning, in a crowded chapel, a woman walked up to the pulpit. She stated: “This letter was written by my sister". I was shocked, sad and angry. I had seen that same woman a day prior at the visitation, standing all alone on the porch of the funeral home. No one knew who she was, nor did she know anyone present either. She grieved alone.
My mind was racing. How did this happen? How could this be possible? This situation is so incredibly sad. This is not the time for the immediate family to introduce themselves. Visitors should not feel overwhelmed trying to figure out who is who and who to console. That is where the concept of Kin-Soul™ began. And that is when I learned, others had stories similar to mine. A Funeral, Memorial or Celebration of Life is a time for the living to gather to express admiration and easily pay respect while consoling the immediate family. Kin-Soul™ was developed to silently identify the immediate family of the deceased, proudly worn in honor of their loved one. No longer will a grandmother quietly sit while visitors are unaware of who she is. No longer will anyone have to stress over guessing who the family is or stand next to a grieving son unaware.
While developing Kin-Soul™ I have learned just how much compassion, care and dedication the funeral industry has for those they serve.
I want to thank those individuals in the industry that provided me input in the development of Kin-Soul™, along with the many stories and reasons why they support Kin-Soul™. And thank you to many more funeral industry professionals who each day provide Kin-Soul™.
Kimberly Urosek Honeycutt
Kin-Soul Founder
kimberly@kin-soul.com