Grieving at a funeral is changing. Funerals are now more of a time of remembering the loved one who has died.
Bryan Leeds misses his dad. When his father passed away in 2009, he asked for one thing... his father's pen.
"My father was a businessman and I can recall him as a child, sitting at his desk and signing documents and doing deals," said Leeds.
Because of those great memories, Leeds wanted his father's funeral to be a celebration of life.
"So why shouldn't we celebrate their accomplishments, their happiness," he said.
Garrett Jacobs, owner of the Gardens of Boca Raton Cemetery and Funeral Home, says more and more families are asking for non-traditional funerals in memory of their lost family members.
"We've had artists who passed away where people decorated the entire building with all of their art. We've had car collectors pass away and we've brought in their car collections we had recently a member of a motorcycle club and his whole club brought their motocycles on the whole property," said Jacobs.
One of the things that makes this funeral home and cemetery unique is that once a loved one has passed away, they are laid to rest above ground.
"In this environment we have a high elderly population that have walkers and wheelchairs and you couldn't walk a traditional cemetery and get to your space to see your loved one if you have a walker or a wheelchair," added Jacobs.
A funeral home, a cemetery and a chapel on the same property.
"I get the feeling of celebrating life instead of celebrating death," said Leeds.
