The death of a family member lead a Windsor woman to creating a product that makes paying respect at a gravesite a much safer and lasting process.

Regan Espinosa, launched a patent-pending product called Visit Box, that allows loved ones to store their items of love and honor at the memorial site for the deceased, according to her company's press release.

During the grieving process, cemetery visitors have always left items and tokens of remembrance on graves. But what happens when these items become hazardous to the environment, wildlife and maintenance operations?

The Visit Box product stemmed from a search for a solution to problems, like weather, causing harm to wildlife or hazards to cemetery maintenance equipment, when it comes to what people put on gravesites.

In addition, people might not know most cemeteries have operational maintenance guidelines with rules on what can be left on graves due to hazards caused by certain objects. On many occasions, groundskeepers are forced to throw items that go against the guidelines away.

An example of a product that endangers wildlife and causes a burden to workers when caught in landscaping equipment is rosaries, a common item that loved ones leave on headstones.

Espinosa's product solves these longstanding problems faced by maintenance crews and people paying respects at burial sites, the Visit Box press release said.

Visit Box is a small and rectangular stone box that is weatherproof and can be secured to the foundation of any headstone.

The product helps eliminate the hurt and upset families face when items are cleared from a gravesite, as well as results in fewer arguments between cemetery employees and families when groundskeepers have to throw items away, according to Espinosa.

The Visit Box makes leaving items at grave sites safer, without having to worry about items blowing away, getting destroyed, causing harm to wildlife and the environment or causing problems with cemetery maintenance guidelines that result in the disposal of the items (Courtesy of Regan Espinosa).

"The idea for Visit Box came from having lost my father after fighting cancer and then sudden cardiac death," Espinosa said. "Due to COVID-19 restrictions, my family could not come home with me for the funeral. I left a drawing from my daughter at his burial site and I returned the next day to see it blown into a nearby field. I had left a framed picture and months later it was eroding away. I wanted to create a product to help keep items that people leave at memorial sites secure from the elements, safer for wildlife and making sure that cemetery grounds would be free from litter."

"It was heartbreaking to leave items at my father's gravesite to help me grieve, she continued. "Weather and wildlife can ruin or blow away meaningful, personal items and it can be devastating to lose them. I was still not getting over my grief, and my personal circumstances after his loss led me to channel my pain into something positive in creating a special product to contain items safely and securely."

Several members within the funeral industry provided feedback about the Visit Box when the product was presented for the first time ever at the National Funeral Director Association trade show and conference in Nashville, the release said.

To see a short introduction of Visit Box, go to youtube.com/watch?v=RHo58TTqS3A. For more information or questions about the patent-pending product, go to thevisitbox.com, email info@thevisitbox.com or call (970) 556-5813.