TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — More and more funeral homes are taking their services virtual.
One funeral home in Tallahassee says their live streaming is helping more friends and family celebrate the lives of their loved ones.
One son says technology in Tallahassee made his mother's memorial more accessible despite the danger of the pandemic.
"Mom was 93 when she passed away," said Don May.
May said his mother taught him the meaning of family. However, coming together to celebrate that life in June was a challenge as the pandemic forced the family apart.
"Two of my mom's siblings are here in town, but due to COVID constrictions, they weren't able to come to the service," May said.
Funeral homes are working to bridge that divide.
"We want to be able to provide comfort and closure to people everywhere," said Breanna Green, the funeral director at Bevis Funeral Home in Tallahassee. "Helping people with the most terrible time of their lives a little more bearable."
Bevis Funeral Home is able to livestream services around the world.
"When we first built this building three years ago, we already had live streaming capability in mind," Green said.
Comforting families like May's forced apart due to the pandemic.
"We have family members in South Korea," said May. "We have family members in Orlando who were able to participate and be a part of it."
A small, but powerful source of comfort bringing families together.
"They were able to watch it and be a part of it and not have to miss it because of social distancing," May said.
Green said she's overseen about two dozen virtual services already and they plan on offering it to more families in the future.
Bevis Funeral Home also encourages masks and social distancing at their in-person services.
They said each family has a choice when it comes to keeping people safe either in-person or online.
