By RICHARD L. OWEN
Owen Family Funeral Home

The staff at Owen Family Funeral Homes is preparing for their ninth annual Holiday Memorial Service. The funeral home will be offering two services to accommodate room for the families.

The first service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, at the Owen Family Funeral Home located at the corner of SR 13 and CR 500N in North Webster.

The second service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Owen Family Funeral Home located at 1001 S. Huntington St. in Syracuse. This year’s guest speaker will be Pastor Pat Park of Wawasee Heights Baptist Church in Syracuse. The guest vocalists will be The Living Word quartet.

The Holiday Memorial Service is held by the staff at the funeral homes to give back to the community. It is also a time for the families to come together to remember their loved ones during the holiday season. A theme is chosen each year to remember and honor those family and friends who will be absent at this special time.

This year’s theme will be “Butterflies.” Each person in attendance will receive a butterfly ornament in memory of their loved one.

As the family members enter the chapel they will see a beautifully decorated tree and room. Soft Christmas carols will be playing in the background by staff organist Ann Lohman.

During the service the name of the loved one being remembered will be read, ornaments will be taken from the tree and they will be presented to the family members. It is hoped that the families will start a new tradition of placing this ornament on their tree each year in memory of their loved one.

Everyone in the community, who has lost an immediate family member in the past year, is invited to participate in one of the memorial services. Reservations are needed to attend the service.

Call (574) 457-4002 or (574) 834-1200 by Friday, Dec. 5, to let the Owen Family Funeral Home staff know how many will be attending, who you are remembering and which service time you are attending. You may also email your reservations to [email protected] or visit www.owenfamilyfuneralhome.com