Apparently the sheaves of wheat with lavender at funerals are symbolic of a long and fruitful life of devotion and grace. They honor the deceased who brought to the world sincere devotion to others. The sheaves also are presented at weddings in some cultures. I wonder when most people stopped the custom of having family funerals in their own homes and relied more instead upon funeral directors or churches to host services. These old obituaries are interesting to read. So many people now choose no funeral, no grave or marker for ashes, and in some cases no obituary. There’s something to be said for taking the time to acknowledge when we mortals come face to face with eternity.
I agree. One of the reasons I concentrate on the older obituaries for this newsletter is the writing. Same is true with newer gravestones which onlu have a name and a date.
The history of the Stiles family goes back to the late 1600s and early 1700s in Rowley, Mass and Dover, NH. When I lived in Dover I bought vegetables from the Tuttle Farm, at the time the oldest family farm in the US. They came from England in the 1600s., the same era in which the Tuttle family settled in Dover. William Stiles lived in Dover, NH at that time and I knew one of his descendants, also named William tiles.
Apparently the sheaves of wheat with lavender at funerals are symbolic of a long and fruitful life of devotion and grace. They honor the deceased who brought to the world sincere devotion to others. The sheaves also are presented at weddings in some cultures. I wonder when most people stopped the custom of having family funerals in their own homes and relied more instead upon funeral directors or churches to host services. These old obituaries are interesting to read. So many people now choose no funeral, no grave or marker for ashes, and in some cases no obituary. There’s something to be said for taking the time to acknowledge when we mortals come face to face with eternity.
I agree. One of the reasons I concentrate on the older obituaries for this newsletter is the writing. Same is true with newer gravestones which onlu have a name and a date.
The history of the Stiles family goes back to the late 1600s and early 1700s in Rowley, Mass and Dover, NH. When I lived in Dover I bought vegetables from the Tuttle Farm, at the time the oldest family farm in the US. They came from England in the 1600s., the same era in which the Tuttle family settled in Dover. William Stiles lived in Dover, NH at that time and I knew one of his descendants, also named William tiles.