Son of Family friend died, no funeral. Gift etiquette?

[Gretch-Bop]

A son of our family friend recently dies of Cancer. The service was very small and we didn't attend.

I am a freshman in high school, and the family friend was also my teacher last year. A group of his former students would like to give him a gift of some sort in memory of his son. What would be a good idea?

We can't have something expensive, and we would like to present him with the gift before the week is out.

Any ideas?

[Barb B]

Did the son have any special interests? Pets, a sport, or such? If so you could give some money to the local humane society and ask that they send a card or certificte saying "For donation received in memory of ______ <deceased's name> . From <list of donors>" You'd want to cal the local humane society to ask what level of donation would be needed for a card or certificate to be done. We did this for the husband of a co-worker and the donation level was $50 for a certificate. ... If the son who passed was active in Boy Scouts or other group, you might check to see if you could donate to that group and at what level you would need to donate to have some recognition of the gift sent. .... Sometimes the family will say 'in lieu of gifts please make donations to..." and it would be a cancer research fund or hospice or even a Ronald McDonald House or such. .....
It is generally considered thoughtful to try to come up with something that was dear to the person who has passed and make a donation toward that (thus my list of thoughts here).
It's good of you to to want to do something for the family of the deceased. Also, a card saying how the person will be missed (and addressing directly something the deceased enjoyed or a particular personality/physical trait is always nice. Something like "Our deepest condolences on Name's passing. We'll always remember and hold dear the memory of the sparkle in his eye when telling a joke - or We'll cherish always his positive outlook and attitude. There is a wonderful lesson in seeing someone live a life so brilliant when faced with the challenges Name faced. The light of his spirit continues to shine." ) Make a personal and caring remark - to emphasize the closeness and underline the personal aspect.

[tehabwa]

A death is NOT a gift-giving event.

Each of you should write a condolence letter, expressing your sympathy, and sharing a memory of the son.

That's very cheap, and MUCH more appropriate.

[spadezgurl22]

why not find out what kind of cancer he had and set up a scholarship in his name, speak to your school guidance counselor about this.

[Glenda G]

Maybe chip in and buy a blank book(call around) and each one of you can design your own pages,pictures,memories,thoughts,condolences, etc.....