Celebrating Life with Eternal Hills Funeral Home

By Kristen Eleveld

Losing a loved one is never easy. And when we experience a loss, we want to ensure that we remember our loved one in the best way possible. Figuring out how to make that happen in the midst of mourning can be difficult, but that’s where the team at Eternal Hills Funeral Home in Snellville stands ready to help.

Lead by Funeral Director and General Manager Gregory Williams, the staff at Eternal Hills dedicates themselves to giving you all the resources you need and more to ensure that your loved one’s life is remembered and celebrated exactly as you hoped it would be.

“Our main goal is not to say no to a family’s request,” said Gregory, who has been in this business for twenty years. “If a family has a request, we do everything in our power to explore every avenue and make sure every option is exhausted in order to make it happen.”

This personalized approach to creating a celebration or funeral service for a loved one is one of the ways that Eternal Hills, which is part of the Dignity Memorial network, has created an environment that perfectly blends compassion, understanding, and dedication to excellent client care. The first thing Gregory and his team do is ask each family to tell them about their loved one’s life, loves, favorite things, and legacy – anything that they want others to know and remember. Then the event planner uses that information to set up vignettes during the funeral service and in the reception room.

“It’s basically a visual obituary of the individual – it takes personalization to the next level,” said Gregory. “We also provide keepsakes for loved ones to help them remember their loved one going forward. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate a life and remember what was most loved about a person.”

This personalized approach is not the only way that Eternal Hills stands out. Being part of the largest funeral home network in the world means Eternal Hills has a lot of resources to offer each and every family in need, so it’s no surprise that they are known for their excellent catered meals, provided to each family and their loved ones as they gather to mourn, remember, and celebrate the life of someone who has passed away.

After the service and burial, family and friends of the deceased can sit down and enjoy food and fellowship with each other. As Gregory points out, it’s difficult for a grieving family to take on the extra burden of hosting visitors during this time, so the funeral home provides an

Things to Consider for Newlyweds

By Our Town Gwinnett Staff

If you’re about to get married or just walked down the aisle, here are five things to do to ensure your financial health.

1. Determine how you will handle finances. They say money can’t buy love and happiness, but talking about it in a marriage, or even beforehand, goes a long way. You’ll want to discuss whether you’ll have a joint bank account and credit cards, separate accounts, or a combination of the two. It’s a personal decision, so consider the pros and cons. It’s also a good idea to know the roles you will play. For example, will you or your partner pay the day-to-day bills? The other person may want to manage the monthly mortgage, auto expenses, or long-term investments and retirement funds. If you need help coming up with a plan, you may want to seek the advice of a financial counselor.

2. Get life insurance. “If you have people who depend on you –including your new spouse – chances are you need life insurance,” said Lou Colaizzo, senior vice president at Erie Family Life. “While it’s hard to think about the possibility of not being there for a loved one, it’s so important to plan for.” Some people may hesitate to seek out life insurance because they don’t want to get a medical exam, but

Continued on page 21 alternative through their catered meals. And they don’t just provide great food and drink – they do it all, from the set up in a reception room to the clean up after to packing up any leftovers to send home with the family. The family can focus on remembering their loved one while the team at Eternal Hills takes care of everything else.

In some cases, the family already has a meal provided to them by their church or community. When that happens, they still get to enjoy a catered meal; they can just choose to enjoy it at a later date. Many families may opt to have their meal on the birthday of their loved one, for instance, or wait until more family is able to gather to enjoy the meal together. On one occasion, a gentleman who had passed was a devoted Alabama football fan, and his family chose to enjoy their catered meal during the Alabama-Auburn game of the following football season. Whatever the family decides, Eternal Hills will deliver their meal anytime within the next year following the funeral service to ensure quality, comforting food is available when families need it. Some families even choose to have their catered meal delivered to the hospice care team or other medical staff that cared for their loved one.

For Gregory, the love for his job comes from his ability to act as a guide for people with nowhere else to turn.

“As a funeral director,” Gregory said, “I help a family by showing them all of their options on how we can help them plan the service that they want to have. A lot of families don’t know how to start or what to do or have never even been to a funeral, so I want to be that light in the darkness to help show them the way and guide them. I help them make an informed decision that will honor their loved one.”

If you want to know more about the services offered by Eternal Hills, Gregory and his team stand ready to help. Give them a call or visit their website to learn why so many people have trusted Eternal Hills Funeral

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