Linda Wood Edwards,
Funeral Celebrant
Jannie Edwards
Linda Wood Edwards
Linda Wood Edwards never intended to become a funeral
celebrant. As a young woman, she had no idea such a role existed.
But when her trusted boss and mentor died unexpectedly of a
heart attack, Linda was asked by his wife to speak at his funeral.
As she solicited stories from his family members and wove them
into a eulogy, Linda experienced firsthand the healing effects of
shared participation in the mourning process.
In addition to preparing a eulogy,
the family asked Linda to be
present at the evening viewing
of the open casket to greet those
who came to pay their respects.
Like most baby boom children of
the 1960s, she had been shielded
from attending funerals even
though she had experienced
signifi cant early loss — more than
ten family deaths by the time she
was thirteen. That evening, in the
hushed and peaceful visitation
room, Linda felt a sense of
community in the loss she shared
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with the friends and family who
came to make their personal
farewells to a well-loved and
respected man.
Linda began to think that she
could become a professional
giver of eulogies. She knew that
she was a good communicator
and storyteller, and she had
experienced the memorable
results of a personalized
life tribute and authentic
funeral service.
Over the next few years, Linda
discovered a growing funeral
celebrant movement that was
encouraged by Doug Manning,
a former Baptist minister who
had established an institute to
off er certifi cation training for
celebrants, guiding their skills in
helping families prepare unique
funeral and memorial services
that meaningfully refl ect the
lifestyle and personality of the
deceased. Linda took this training
with noted grief counsellor and
educator Dr Alan Wolfelt to
deepen her understanding of the
grieving and mourning process.