Serving Our Community

As 2023 progresses we look back to reflect upon the positive aspects of this past year. The staff at Morrissett Funeral and Cremation Service are always grateful for the families that we serve, as well as opportunities to give back to the surrounding community and show support to our veterans. Morrissett wrapped up the year 2022 by sponsoring or participating in several community-service events. These included Stockings for Soldiers, Wreaths Across America, and our annual Service of Remembrance.

We began the holiday season by hosting our annual Service of Remembrance at Meadowbrook Country Club. We do so every November to honor the families that we served during the previous year and to remember their loved ones. The service is held every year because we know that the holidays can be an especially challenging time in the grieving process, and our commitment to the families we have served does not end once their loved one’s initial memorial service is over. It is an honor to do this for our families and share this time of fellowship and remembrance with them, in the hopes that it will help equip and encourage them. Each family also receives an ornament with the name of their loved one written on it.

The gathering this year included appetizers and dessert while a video presentation showed pictures of each individual that Morrissett has helped lay to rest this year. There was a candle lighting ceremony, and the presentation of the personalized ornaments as each name was read aloud and honored.

We also heard a few words of encouragement from our Community Care Director Greg Webber, who reminded us that it is normal for the holidays to feel different following the loss of a loved one. He encouraged the families to find new ways to make the holiday feel special to them, or even simply manageable. Greg also shared that it is important to allow time to feel grief, and to not be too hard on ourselves when we don’t feel the way we expected to feel. The process of grief is complicated and confusing, as well as different for each person. It is also okay to feel happy, because happiness in no way cheapens our grief or dilutes our love for one who is missed so much. He reminded us that it is important to embrace those moments of joy whenever possible.

Greg then closed his remarks by saying, “So, grieve as you should, keep it real, & don’t apologize for not feeling the holiday spirit. Also, please know you are loved and we consider you family. On behalf of your Morrissett family may blessings & peace fill your heart and ease your hurt.”

We enjoyed spending the afternoon together with the families who attended, and hope that the event provided some comfort and peace for them during what can be a difficult time.

As December began we participated in the Chester Christmas Parade. Then in mid-December we continued our holiday tradition of helping collect and deliver Stockings for Soldiers, thanks to the generosity of several local churches & groups. These organizations gathered supplies & stockings to provide some holiday treats for soldiers stationed nearby, many who cannot be with their families during the holidays.

              

This year once again over 300 filled stockings were assembled, & Morrissett staff then delivered them to Fort Lee, all thanks to our wonderful community. Because of them our soldiers had some extra warmth and comfort knowing that there are so many people who care about them, and who appreciate their service and sacrifice for this country.

On December 16 the staff of Morrissett Funeral & Cremation Service was proud to once again help sponsor and join in a local Wreaths Across America event. This marks the sixth year that Morrissett has been involved with the event, which is held every year in over 3,500 cemeteries across the country. The purpose is to remember and honor our veterans by laying remembrance wreaths on the graves of our fallen heroes. The Morrissett motorcycle hearse carried the ceremonial wreaths, one for each branch of the military, and helped lead a procession from American Legion 146 to City Point National Cemetery. There a brief ceremony was held followed by the laying of wreaths by the many volunteers who were gathered.

It was encouraging to see the amount of community support gathered at the event, as well as a unique privilege to witness the special presentation of a Ceremonial Wreath by a father and son who are both military veterans. They are pictured above with a member of our staff, and the father is a WWII veteran who is 100 years old. What an incredible legacy!

Finally, in the days leading up to Christmas we had the opportunity to sponsor a local family through the Christmas Mother organization. Our staff worked hard to help provide items to make their Christmas special, and we also enjoyed spending time with them making ornaments together.

All of these events were incredibly meaningful to us, and we are proud of our staff for their community involvement. Feeling connected to our community and to the families that walk through our door remains important to us, and the staff at Morrissett will continue to look for ways to serve in the upcoming year.

Morrissett Funeral and Cremation Service

6500 Iron Bridge Road

Richmond, VA 23234

(804) 275-7828

info@morrissett.com

Serving the Richmond area since 1870