The Why and the Wherefore
The Why.The idea for this website came years after my Dad died and we siblings who were used to gathering around his tomb on All Soul's Day, Memorial Day or his birthday slowly grappled with the realization that oftentimes, we were finding ourselves in different time zones and countries during those days unable to physically congregate around Dad's grave. Although he was a successful businessman with this own set of achievements which brought people together, my Dad shared this simple epitaph which could never be understated as his credentials with the world : "cherished husband and beloved father" . He wore shoes too big for anyone of us to fill in that respect. Other occasions like Christmas or Thanksgiving came for family reunions, yet year after year, the prospects of being able to reunite as a family in my Dad's memory grew dimmer. Our global mobility in seeking our own paths in the world had taken its toll not only in bringing us apart but also in endangering the memory of our youthful existence and this unifying call for us siblings to once again gather under his embrace. The pace of today's technology which aided in widening the physical distance among us also provided the answers in bring us nearer. The digital magic of an online memorial site is now within our reach. This hero of ours is certainly deserving of a memorial site - one that would continue to bond us siblings with one another remembering the great memories he left behind.
Although the signs of the times were telling us that we were just a url away, the bigger question that loomed before us then was: What about other families or individuals facing a similar predicament like ours - wishing to embark on a visit to a loved one's grave but unable to due to geographical dislocation, global disasters or even a pandemic. Could a site be opened up for them as well?
-jt, September 2013
The Why.The idea for this website came years after my Dad died and we siblings who were used to gathering around his tomb on All Soul's Day, Memorial Day or his birthday slowly grappled with the realization that oftentimes, we were finding ourselves in different time zones and countries during those days unable to physically congregate around Dad's grave. Although he was a successful businessman with this own set of achievements which brought people together, my Dad shared this simple epitaph which could never be understated as his credentials with the world : "cherished husband and beloved father" . He wore shoes too big for anyone of us to fill in that respect. Other occasions like Christmas or Thanksgiving came for family reunions, yet year after year, the prospects of being able to reunite as a family in my Dad's memory grew dimmer. Our global mobility in seeking our own paths in the world had taken its toll not only in bringing us apart but also in endangering the memory of our youthful existence and this unifying call for us siblings to once again gather under his embrace. The pace of today's technology which aided in widening the physical distance among us also provided the answers in bring us nearer. The digital magic of an online memorial site is now within our reach. This hero of ours is certainly deserving of a memorial site - one that would continue to bond us siblings with one another remembering the great memories he left behind.
Although the signs of the times were telling us that we were just a url away, the bigger question that loomed before us then was: What about other families or individuals facing a similar predicament like ours - wishing to embark on a visit to a loved one's grave but unable to due to geographical dislocation, global disasters or even a pandemic. Could a site be opened up for them as well?
-jt, September 2013