INDUSTRY INSIGHT
FUNERAL SERVICES
SPONSORED CONTENT
Goodbye, Granddad’ s Funeral: How Young Generations are Changing How We Say Farewell
Imagine a funeral. What do you picture? Probably a somber church, dark suits, quiet prayers, and maybe a eulogy delivered by a religious leader. For a long time, that’ s what funerals mostly looked like in America. They followed traditions passed down through generations, often centered on specific religious ceremonies. But things are changing.
As millennials and Gen Z’ ers grow up and start planning funerals for their loved ones( and even thinking about their own), they’ re bringing new ideas that are reshaping the entire funeral industry. It’ s less about strict rules and more about celebrating a unique life.
One of the biggest shifts is the move away from traditional religious services. For decades, a church funeral was the norm. Now, more and more people are less religious or don’ t identify with a specific faith. This means that when a loved one passes away, families might not feel comfortable having a service in a church or with a pastor they don’ t know well.
Instead, they’ re looking for ceremonies that feel more personal and less tied to religious traditions they don’ t follow. This doesn’ t mean less meaningful, just different. It might be a gathering at a community center, a park, or even someone’ s home, led by a family member or a professional officiant who focuses on the person’ s life story rather than religious scripture.
Hand in hand with this change is the huge increase in people choosing cremation. For a long time, burial was the most common choice. But cremation offers flexibility and is often more affordable. For younger generations, who might be more practical and less tied to land ownership or traditional burial plots, cremation makes a lot of sense. And families have many options for what to do with the ashes. They can keep them at home, scatter them in a meaningful place, or even turn them into jewelry, fireworks, or artificial reefs. This allows for a much
more creative and personal way to honor someone, rather than just a traditional burial plot.
The core of what young people are looking for is authenticity and personal meaning. They want a funeral or memorial service to truly reflect the person who passed away, not be a generic ceremony. This means incorporating elements that were unique to the individual. Did your grandma love jazz music? Maybe the service features a live jazz band. Was your dad a huge baseball fan? Perhaps guests wear their favorite team jerseys, and the reception serves stadium food.
This desire for personalization is leading to unique venues, custom tributes, interactive elements, and specific themes. Saying goodbye can include hobbies, passions, or cultural background, making the event feel less like a solemn obligation and more like a true celebration of who the person was.
This shift isn’ t just about avoiding tradition; it’ s about making the goodbye process more meaningful and less stressful. Younger generations are often comfortable having open conversations about death and dying, which allows them to plan services that truly honor their loved ones’ wishes and personalities.
Funeral directors are adapting by becoming more like event planners, offering a wider range of options and working closely with families to bring their unique visions to life. They’ re learning to be creative and flexible, understanding that a meaningful farewell can look very different from what their grandparents might have expected. This evolution means that while the core purpose of a funeral— to grieve and remember— remains the same, the ways we achieve that are becoming as diverse and individual as the lives we celebrate.
At Sperling Funeral and Cremation Care, we take the time to work with families and adapt to the changing times. Of course we can still handle traditional funerals, but we are also adept at planning new ways to help say goodbye.
If you have questions about us or our services, please feel free to call or find us on Facebook. You can also learn more about our family and services by visiting: sperlingfuneral. com
700 Blazier Dr. • Wexford, PA 15090 Jarett D. Sperling, Supervisor 724.933.9200
NORTH ALLEGHENY | SUMMER 2025 7