A Cubbie just lost his mother

[msnowman]

One of our incoming Web I's just lost his mom on Saturday. The Pack didn't know the mother (non-custodial, blah, blah), but the boy and his father are well liked by all. I have seen the boy and extended my condolences on a personal level but wondered what other Packs do on a Pack level. I figured a card and?? A fruit basket to his home? The family did not want flowers at the funeral. Suggestions?

[scoutldr]

I lost both parents in 1995, so here is my experience:

 

Flowers are nice, but they are a lot of money for something that only lasts a couple of days. Most of them are left at the gravesite and are thrown away within 1-2 days.

 

We were inundated with food within 24 hrs, which is nice if you have a lot of out of town guests. Storing it all became an issue and being able to use it before it went bad.

 

But one of the nicest things was someone who waited a week and brought over a full meal...when all of the initial food had been either consumed or thrown away. It came right at the time when we were most exhausted, all the guests had gone home, and the finality of it all was starting to set in.

 

A donation to a church memorial fund or other favorite charity is always appreciated, if they have one.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

[eaglewings2002]

I was going to post that exact same response - wait a little, then send food. Make sure it is something you think kids would like. Maybe have pizza sent over (call them and tell them you are going to do this)

 

Fruit basket etc would be great too. I just think they will get more out of it if it comes AFTER the initial flurry of visitors is over. They are likely to have so much then they have to throw some away!