The most clicked story from last week's E-Brief may have put the focus on how Texas-area florists are trying to get rid of the "In lieu of flowers" phrase, but the troubling trend knows no borders.

Garlene Lewis of Floral Express in Little Rock, Ark., shared her own efforts to erase the "heartbreaking" words with E-brief editors.

When Lewis' mother died, the generous outpouring of flowers reinforced her belief in their power to comfort, one that resonates more than 20 years after her mother's funeral.

"I was overwhelmed by the flowers. I will never forget the impact that had on me," she wrote of the 1985 service. "Not because the flowers were beautiful, which they were, but it showed me the many, many friends she had, the people who cared for her. When the opportunity presented itself, I share the story about my mother's funeral [with customers] and the impact having all the beautiful flowers at her service had on me."

--Morgan Schimminger
mschimminger@safnow.org

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