During Covid, many people were forced to be apart from loved ones due to lockdown restrictions. This prevented many from being at the bedside of those who were dying or being able to come together afterwards for the funeral and wake.
In February 2021 Helen lost her mother after a long fight with cancer, and for the 12 months before was unable to visit her personally due to travel restrictions and her mother’s immune suppressed status. The risks were too high.
In memory of her mum, D3 Marketing have been working to launch a new website and offering which will enable families and friends who are geographically distanced, to come together to remember those that pass.
www.theforeverloved.com is an online memorial site. Anyone can set up a personal tribute to a lost one, and invite family and friends from around the world to leave photos, tributes and stories for everyone to read.
This online platform will help people share the stories from the past and the love that is traditionally done face to face during funerals and wakes.
With travel disruptions and strikes looming constantly on the horizon, the huge jump in travel fares in 2022 and now predicted in 2023 due to increasing airline taxes, the ever present Covid and flu health considerations and increasingly dispersed family groups, the site aims to create a bridge between people.
When my mother Mary died, it was just my father and I in the house due to lockdown. We could only invite 15 people socially distanced to the funeral. It was heart breaking. My mother had a huge Irish family across the world, and in Ireland, and many many friends. An online memorial I set up brought such joy to us at this lonely time. We heard stories and saw photos for the first time. We were able to read the many and varied ways my mum would be remembered and we felt wrapped in the warmth of friendships and family ties. Time and distance disappeared.
The Forever Loved new brand we hope will become a tool to help other families find love together in the saddest of times.