All posts tagged: funerals

12 emotional celebrity funerals that shook the world

12 emotional celebrity funerals that shook the world

Published by Daniella Wilson

When a celebrity passes on, it’s not only the friends and family that go into mourning. Whether their music made you feel less alone, their work inspired you to pick up a microphone or their honest approach to life provided some needed confidence, famous faces can impact our day to day lives more than we know. Read on to find out which celebrity funerals left a lasting impact on the world. © Getty Images Ozzy Osbourne passed on 22 July 2025 Ozzy Osbourne Born John Michael Osbourne, Ozzy is credited as one of the early pioneers of heavy metal music. He served as the frontman of Black Sabbath, which he co-founded, from 1968, known for hit tracks like ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Iron Man’. When he passed on 22 July 2025, the world of heavy music was devastated to lose one of its greats and fans flocked to show their devotion to the late singer. © Corbis via Getty Images A sea of flowers were left to honour the late Princess outside Buckingham Palace Princess Diana Princess …

Meet the woman turning wedding dresses into ‘angel gowns’ for infant funerals

Meet the woman turning wedding dresses into ‘angel gowns’ for infant funerals

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more A woman in Wisconsin is showing her support for grieving families by transforming donated wedding dresses into burial garments for infants. Rock County-based Rosann Cassiopi opened up about her decade of crafting the garments, also known as angel gowns, during a recent interview with Spectrum News 1. She spends 40 hours a week working as a volunteer seamstress for the non-profit organization Real Imprints. The company runs The Angel Gowns Project, which makes the garments for children who died due to a miscarriage or stillbirth, or shortly after birth. Cassiopi retired early after being diagnosed with spastic paraparesis — a rare neurological condition that causes muscle stiffness in the lower limbs, according to the Cleveland Clinic — leaving her with free time. Despite knowing …

Funerals held across Lebanon during 10-day ceasefire | Israel attacks Lebanon News

Funerals held across Lebanon during 10-day ceasefire | Israel attacks Lebanon News

Published by Sam Flores

Mourners across Lebanon are burying victims of the war with Israel during a 10-day ceasefire. In Beirut, crowds carried the bodies of Hezbollah fighters, while in Tyre, families gathered at temporary graves for civilians killed in strikes just before the truce. Published On 20 Apr 202620 Apr 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Source link

Ask An Expert: Does AI Have A Place In Funerals?

Ask An Expert: Does AI Have A Place In Funerals?

Published by Sam Flores

Last year, NBA stars Russell Westbrook and Kemba Walker launched a startup, Eazewell, which aims to make funeral planning simpler and more streamlined, thanks in part to artificial intelligence (AI). “We’re trying to take the weight off people’s shoulders as much as we can, and make this process so much easier for people,” Walker shared with CNBC. And it seems the trend is growing. The Washington Post reported on the “rise” of AI obituary writing tools, stating that funeral directors “are increasingly asking the relatives of the deceased whether they would prefer for AI to write the obituary”. Here, funeral director Andrew Purves from William Purves Funeral Directors shared his thoughts on the shift. AI funerals are “uncomfortable [and] potentially dangerous” According to Purves, “A funeral director’s job requires a blend of administrative and interpersonal skills and, above all, a desire to support people facing loss. “Funeral directors deliver a unique service: guiding, supporting and actioning a family’s wishes, while also project managing and communicating with third parties such as churches, florists or celebrants.” And …

Family Grieves Daughter Killed in Canada Mass Shooting

Family Grieves Daughter Killed in Canada Mass Shooting

Published by Sam Flores

new video loaded: Family Grieves Daughter Killed in Canada Mass Shooting transcript Back transcript Family Grieves Daughter Killed in Canada Mass Shooting Lance Younge of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, urged others to “hold your kids tight” in the wake of Tuesday’s mass shooting. His daughter, 12-year-old Kylie Smith, was one of the victims at a local school. “She was just a beautiful soul. She’s a light in our family. She loved art and anime. She wanted to go to school in Toronto, and she just loved her so much.” “The full extent of what has happened has not sunk in. And there are going to be some long days, weeks and months ahead.” “I let her go to school with her brother Ethan in the morning and just, I soaked in that moment watching them walk in the door together for whatever reason. And I didn’t know it would be the last time they’d go to school together. Hold your kids tight. Tell them you love them every day. You never know, you never know. …

The hidden power of grief rituals

The hidden power of grief rituals

Published by Sam Flores

(The Conversation) — In Tana Toraja, a mountainous region of Sulawesi, Indonesia, villagers pour massive resources into funeral rituals: lavish feasts, ornate effigies and prized water buffaloes for sacrifice. I witnessed this funeral ritual in 2024 while accompanying scholar Melanie Nyhof on her fieldwork. Families were expected to stage funerals that matched the social standing of the dead, even if it meant selling land, taking out loans or calling on distant kin for help. In my own work of studying communal mourning rituals, I take part in ceremonies to see how they unfold.At one of the ceremonies I attended in Tana Toraja, hundreds gathered as gongs echoed through the valley. Guests were served meals over several days, dancers in bright headdresses performed for the crowd, and water buffalo – the most valuable gift a family can give – were led into the courtyard for sacrifice. Mourners described these acts as ways of honoring the deceased. It wasn’t just in the villages of Tana Toraja that families and clans used rituals to express loyalty for people …

Scientists discover Africa’s oldest cremation pyre revealing complex rituals from 9,500 years ago

Scientists discover Africa’s oldest cremation pyre revealing complex rituals from 9,500 years ago

Published by Jenni Sidey

A team led by University of Oklahoma anthropologist Jessica Cerezo-Román and Yale University anthropologist Jessica Thompson has documented something archaeologists have long struggled to find in Africa’s hunter-gatherer record: a clear, intentional cremation on an open pyre from about 9,500 years ago. The work, published in Science Advances, centers on a rock shelter site in northern Malawi called Hora 1, also known as HOR-1, at the base of Mount Hora. The researchers say it is the earliest evidence of intentional cremation in Africa and the world’s oldest known in situ cremation pyre holding the remains of an adult. “Cremation is very rare among ancient and modern hunter-gatherers, at least partially because pyres require a huge amount of labor, time, and fuel to transform a body into fragmented and calcined bone and ash,” said Cerezo-Román, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. HOR-1 site (11°39′S, 33°39′E; 1470 m above mean sea level, white stipples) relative to published excavated LSA sites. (CREDIT: Science Advances) “Not only is this the earliest cremation in Africa, it …

CofE marriages and funerals in decline, Church data shows

CofE marriages and funerals in decline, Church data shows

Published by Sam Flores

The National Secular Society has renewed calls for separation of Church and state, after new figures from the Church of England revealed the Church’s continued decline. The CofE’s 2024 ‘Statistics for Mission’ report, released yesterday, found “by almost every measure, in almost every diocese, Church of England attendance and participation was still significantly lower in 2024 than in 2018”, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. The figures demonstrated declines in CofE baptisms, marriages and funerals since last year, which the NSS said reveals the Church’s “rapidly diminishing relevance in British society”. Less than 2% people in England attend church at least once a month The report said the speed of recovery in church attendance and participation since the pandemic has slowed, “with smaller increases in attendance from 2023 to 2024 than in previous years”. Church attendance remained “some way below pre-pandemic levels”, the report said, while some measures of attendance “remained below projected pre-pandemic trends”. Average Sunday attendance at CofE services remains just over 1% of the English population. The CofE estimates its ‘worshipping community’ …