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Remembering Those Who Have Gone Before: The Importance of AIDS Memorial Services for Families and Friends

In the 1980s and early 1990s, numerous deaths of people with AIDS resulted in regularly sponsored memorial services for families and friends. Since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapies, people living with AIDS experience longer life expectancy. Subsequently, memorial services have gradually been eliminated, primarily due to a decreased death rate among those who are HIV infected. The purpose of this study was to examine the meaning of an annual memorial service for loved ones who had lost someone to AIDS. Thirty-four family members and friends participated in telephone interviews and provided descriptions of the meaning of the annual memorial service. Findings revealed that this service assured them that the deceased was not forgotten. Often, the memorial service was the only outlet families, particularly members of minority and disenfranchised groups, had to mourn the deceased. Persons who attended the service found it comforting to gather to remember loved ones lost to AIDS.