Website Information

Today, most important information is accessed via the internet and funeral services are no different at www.LSVPMemorialHome.com. We have provided not only essential information that people request, such as funeral home address and direction information, but also an obituary page for each funeral service. This enables your family a secure place that will allow everyone to view the obituary information for their loved one, whose life we are honoring. Included are the service schedules and locations, as well as family members surviving the individual, and any special request, such as memorial donation information.

Additionally the obituary pages of our website provide a number of ways to communicate with families and to share memories with others. A private message can be sent to the family through a condolence card or a memory could be posted on the bottom of a person’s obituary page for all who visit to view. Photos and stories interwoven tell a story and can be shared by creating a memorial page for someone. Here is a separate place to create more extensive memories through photos and text with more options for the appearance which then can be viewed by everyone.

All postings to an obituary page are first sent to a family member for review. The family members name receiving these messages is provided on the page for that individual. Each family is given access to a private webpage for review and approval of all submitted information. After reviewing these postings the families can control the release of these messages to be added to the publicly viewable page

Online Obituaries

Obituary and death notices are public notices of the death of someone traditionally published in a newspaper. Newspapers have evolved into full obituaries in recent times, although some are still free, such as our weekly newspapers, The Advertiser and The Dispatch. Although most are now paid obituaries, some newspapers do offer a limited death notice at no cost.

Each notice is unique, although they often follow a format which readers have become accustomed to. We at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home will work with you to gather all the essential information, as well as discuss the different dimensions of biographical and personal information, such as a family statement. We will make every effort to create an obituary that is appropriate and unique for each person.

At the Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, we can facilitate placement of newspaper notices in almost any newspaper in the country. Each newspaper has its’ own policy about the cost, usually on a per line basis. Some still run free obituaries, but a newspaper notice can range from a hundred dollars to several hundred dollars, or even a thousand dollars in certain papers, depending on the newspaper. We can provide information and guidance regarding the individual newspaper charges and will help to give options about the different ways that we can handle these costs.

Because a notice in the newspaper is a public statement of the loss of a loved one, it can often become a cherished remembrance for a family. There are many important considerations about what is best for each family and it is our goal to advise you as to the ways a dignified, yet personal statement, can be composed.

A photograph can be included with an obituary in the newspaper or a symbol may be selected, such as an American flag. Consideration must be made that this may add more linage, adding to the cost.