How to Create Your Own Free Memorial Cards

Celebrate your loved one's life with a custom memorial card.

Image Credit: Pontus Edenberg/Hemera/Getty Images

Creating a memorial card as a family or circle of friends can help you mark the passing of your loved one. Keep the deceased's preferences in mind as you make your choices so the memorial card is a representation of him. Choose fonts and colors that reflect the somber occasion. A folding card with four sides is a respectful memento for grieving relatives and friends, but you can also choose to create a flat, two-sided card.

Step 1

Open a document template from Microsoft Word or other word processing program. Word doesn't have any specific templates for memorial cards, but if you search for "sympathy," "2 per page" or "quarter-fold," you can find a base template to customize. Another option is to download a free obituary card template from Funerals Online, My Wonderful Life or The Funeral Program Site (see Resources).

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Step 2

Choose an appropriate picture for the front of the memorial card, such as a religious picture, flower drawings or a scenic photograph, from a free image site like All-free-download.com, Dreamstime or Vector Portal (see Resources). Make sure the image is large enough for the front of your card and that the image resolution is 300 dots per inch.

Step 3

Select a favorite prayer or poem for the left page of the inside. Type it into your word processor and format the text in italics. Don't forget to credit the author, if applicable.

Step 4

Scan a photo of the deceased person into your computer at 300 dpi. You might choose a recent photo or one of the person when he was younger. Crop the photo to highlight the person's face (some free image-editing sites include Pixlr, Fotor and PicMonkey). Place the photo on the inside right page, and apply a vignette or border to the photo.

Step 5

Type the person's name, date of birth, date of death and the names of surviving family members underneath the photo. Double-check the dates and spelling of names to ensure accuracy.

Step 6

Use the back of the memorial card to tell a short story of the person's life, print a hymn or list the funeral program and participants.

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