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Kudoboard offers an online memorial to celebrate the life of a colleague, family member, or friend who recently passed away.  

The Hartnell College choir recently set up such a board for George Peterson, of Monterey County, here. If you knew George, please add a tribute honoring his memory.

Additional remembrances of George, written by Anna Oberst of the Hartnell College choir:

George Peterson
Pianist, composer, accompanist, musical director.
January 20, 1960 – December 7, 2020

George Peterson will be missed. He was not only a gifted musician, but a lovely person inside and out. Many know him from the musical community in the Monterey Bay Area. He was involved with many groups over the years as a pianist, accompanist, composer and/or a musical director. He also worked as a musician for many years on cruise ships.

Most would agree that George was a man of few words, but a man of much expression through his music. It is hard to think of George without thinking of music. He was a professional. Whenever tasked with any musical job, he usually put more than 100% of his time and talent into it. I recall him saying once that he wasn’t really one to want to ‘teach’ piano/music; but for those who knew him, George was one who really wanted to help other musicians reach their goals. Over the past few years he’d often stay after classes to work with students at Hartnell College in Salinas, Ca., where he was the accompanist for the Hartnell Choirs with Director, Sandy Rudo. 

The Hartnell choir students always enjoyed George’s little musical antics too. He’d often use the piano to inject bits of humor during rehearsals, like playing the Jeopardy Theme when a question was being asked of the students by Mrs. Rudo. He also was known to slyly manipulate an accompaniment into another genre, and he’d wait to see how long it’d take before the singers, and Mrs. Rudo, would notice.

I’m sure there are many people in Monterey County who have similar stories to share about George, so we’ve created this Memorial Kudoboard for anyone to contribute and share their memories.

Although he is no longer with us physically, his impression will continue to be with us for a very long time. His calm demeanor, infused with his silly bits of joy, found landing spots in all of our hearts, which we can continue to carry with us and share with others.

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.

– Thomas Campbell

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Whether through funeral rituals, remembrance items, or telling stories to younger generations, celebrating the life of a loved one who has passed away is as old a tradition as humanity itself. 

But the ease with which these stories can be shared has improved dramatically with the creation of memorial websites.  These websites allow family and friends to add tributes, pictures, music, videos, and stories, all of which are compiled onto one website that can be easily shared. 

Some memorial websites even offer innovative features such as scannable QR codes that can be placed on a headstone to link to the online tribute page.

These online memorials for loved ones have become especially valuable in the time of coronavirus.  Many families currently cannot travel or gather in groups.  With online memorial sites, your loved ones can still be celebrated.

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Here are a few noteworthy online memorial sites:

1. EverLoved.  EverLoved is designed as a one-stop-shop for celebrating your loved one.  It provides an online memorial page, but it also offers features such as a fundraising platform to cover funeral costs, price quotes from funeral providers, and links to independent memorial companies to allow you to save money on funeral-related items such as caskets, urns, and headstones.  The website also provides ready phone and email support.  
   
   
2. Keeper.  Keeper is a modern memorial website that offers a number of unique features.  You can create a timeline of milestones in the deceased’s life; you can create a family tree; and you can map the location of a funeral home, cemetery, grave, or mausoleum.  Additionally, the Keeper Mobile App includes step-by-step navigation service to these locations.  The Keeper Plus version is offered at a one-time payment of $74.99.  Keeper currently allows users video-streaming options during COVID-19. 
   
   
3. Legacy.com.  Legacy is the largest, and perhaps oldest, host of online obituaries.  The website has obituaries and memorials for over 70% of all U.S. deaths.  It prominently features obituaries of famous Americans, and it partners with local newspapers to upload obituaries from across the country.  These obituaries have guest books, options to send flowers and gifts, and clearly-displayed funeral information.   While it’s design is less modern than several other options — if a ready-made connection between your online memorial and print obituary is what you are seeking, then this is often the default option.
   
   
4. Forevermissed.com.  Forever Missed is a robust online memorial that offers many templates and themes to structure your tribute page.  You can also create a playlist of songs, light virtual candles, and control viewership settings.  The free plan limits the number of photos to five and does not allow for video uploads.  The paid plan is $6.99 per month, $64.99 per year, or a one-time payment of $124.99.
   
   
5. Kudoboard. Unlike many other options, Kudoboard memorials are focused on simplicity and ease of use. You can share a link with anyone invited to the memorial website, allowing them to easily contribute memories, photos, or videos with the click of a button.  These contributions are gathered on a memorial board, such as this one.  The online memorial can be played as a slideshow or easily printed as a poster to display at a celebration of life reception.  Kudoboard offers both a free “Mini Memorial” with a limited number of posts and a “Full Memorial” board with unlimited posts for a one-time payment of $99.

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Regardless of the memorial site used, we recommend a few things for a meaningful experience:

1. The More The Merrier.  You might have the closest connection to the remembered loved one, but by inviting friends and family to share their own pictures, videos, and stories, you’ll allow them to remember the loved one in a unique way, and you’ll hear stories and see photos that you’d perhaps forgotten.  Additionally, the experience can allow you to connect with those you haven’t seen in some time.
   
   

2. Tell A Story.  In addition to describing your loved one with descriptive adjectives (caring, kind, intelligent, fun, energetic, happy, etc.), consider writing down a particular story (maybe it was the time Mom lost her luggage, but she made the best of it by buying a silly souvenir t-shirt every day of the trip).  Stories bring out the loved one’s unique personality, and guests to the memorial website will enjoy remembering the same story.   
   
   

3. A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words.  Unlike traditional guestbooks, memorial websites allow users the option to add pictures and videos.  This is a great opportunity to capture a moment in time in the loved one’s life, a particular trip or event, or just an encapsulation of that person (“Dad always loved that jack and wore it everywhere!”). 
   
   

4. Find Pictures From Different Ages.  If you can find them, include pictures from different periods of the loved one’s life.  Everyone enjoys pictures from when dad was in his crazy twenties (“those sideburns!”) and then again from thirty years later (“what happened to dad’s hair?!”).  
   
   

5. Keeping Adding.  You don’t ever have to stop.  Your online memorial site can continue growing as you remember different stories or uncover new photos.  By using a site like Kudoboard, your memorial site will last forever, and you can revisit it any time you want to remember your loved one.  
   
   

If you have any questions about Kudoboard Online Memorials, you can email us at [email protected] and we will get back to you within one business day. 

We at Kudoboard wish the best for you, your family, and your friends.