Facebook Memorials – Keeping their Memory Alive

Facebook is not just for the living.  There you’ll find my late husband, Kevin Boitson.  After a devastating alert passed across my screen telling me “You haven’t connected with Kevin in a while” when he had been dead a couple of months, I was informed by friends that I could immortalize him in Facebook by having his active page changed to a memoriam page.  The only way one knows this is by clicking on his Facebook page to see that it’s a memorial page.

When I first had it changed over to a Memorial page I wondered if I would be the only one leaving comments.  This isn’t the case.  Many of his friends wished him a Happy Birthday in heaven and shared moments of reflection on memories they once had together.  As a birthday occurred today for another widow’s husband (whom also died of Angiosarcoma) I shared a ‘Happy Birthday’ on his page.  I had to wonder if all of Facebook friends knew he had died?

Facebook is considerate of this fact and has come a long way since I became a widow.  It took petition writing for them to honor us with a “widowed” relationship status when we weren’t single and didn’t want it to be complicated (but oh how it was)!  You can read Facebook’s blog about how to create a memorial page for a loved one who has died.  While it may not be for everyone, it has been healing for me to read others memories of my late husband and to know that I am not grieving alone for his death.

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Comments 3

  1. Hi – As I sit here coming to terms with loss this very question crossed my mind too – what if his page eventually times out? I wanted to memorialize his page to keep it alive but I’ve heard conflicting information about what will happen to it once this is done. Now finding your answer was some reassurance but actually the link to Kevin’s page on facebook says that page can’t be found. Did they eventually take down his page or did the link just change? I’m hesitant to inform them of my friend’s passing by submitting his page if it will only serve to inform them to take down the page. Do you have to already be a friend to access a memorialized page and is that why I can’t find Kevin’s page?

  2. I had his change to a memorial page, which is probably why the link no longer works. I don’t know if they take submissions from friends, maybe just immediate family? It’s so difficult to make that decision. I would consult your friend’s family to see what their intentions are.

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