The memorial wall

The memorial wall lives at /memorials. It's the right space for tributes that aren't time-sensitive death announcements — those live on the obituaries page, which is structured around funeral details and service times.

Three kinds of tribute

• 🕊️ Remembering — a beloved person who's passed. Anniversary remembrances, "this would have been their 80th birthday," post-funeral memories.
• 🐾 Pet memorial — for the family dog of 14 years, the cat who saw you through grad school, the horse who taught you patience.
• 🌟 Milestone tribute — for the living. A parent's 80th birthday. A 25-year recovery anniversary. A teacher's retirement. A graduate.
• 💐 Other — anything that doesn't fit the other three but feels worth honoring.

Posting a tribute

Sign in, click Post a tribute, pick the kind, fill in:

• Subject name — required. Their full name (or the pet's name).
• Your relationship — optional but helps readers contextualize ("grandmother," "childhood friend").
• Dates — birth, passing, or milestone date. All optional.
• Photo URL — optional. A 4:3 photo renders best.
• Tribute — required, at least 10 characters. Specific details matter — what made them who they were?
• Anniversary reminder — opt-in. The site emails you on the anniversary so you don't miss it.

Leaving tributes on others' walls

Every memorial has a community guestbook at the bottom. Anyone — signed-in or not — can leave a tribute (your name appears next to your message). Tributes don't replace the original; they accumulate, layered.

How this is different from obituaries

Obituaries are structured around funeral logistics: service times, funeral homes, family contact. They're news-cycle posts that fade after the funeral. Memorials are timeless — they're how a community keeps memories alive for years.

Reputation

Posting a memorial earns +5. Leaving a tribute on someone else's memorial earns +1 per tribute.