Tattoos can have a lot of different meanings. Sometimes, it’s something simple, like lyrics we love or a symbol that represents where he have traveled in life. Often, we use tattoos for something even closer to the heart and as a way to remember loved ones we have lost, or to honor people who are struggling.
Each of these forty tattoos each come with their own powerful meaning and story.
You’ll want to see them all.
When his father passed away, this man still wanted to keep a part of him close. He had his father’s hand-print taken by the funeral home. That image would become the tattoo on his back, so it would always be there to remind him of his father’s presence in his life.
Her twin passed away. To remember and honor her as well as the special bond they had, she had these two tattoos done.
She decided to get a video game “extra life” tattoo. It was to signify the extra life that heart surgery had given her.
#4 Beginnings and endings
He was so excited to have his fifth child that he rushed to get a tattoo as soon as he could. He explained that this child, Rainy, was important because she would continue living on for him. He was dying of lung cancer and only had a few months left to live and spend time with her.
Her mom had said that if she was going to get any more tattoos that the next one would need to be a fairy. When her mother passed away suddenly, she decided to honor that and also included a copy of part of a note her mother had once written her.
#6 Always friends and brothers
His big brother passed away when he was almost forty years old. To honor his brother’s memory, he got a tattoo of two LEGOs. The smaller one is yellow (his favorite color), and it is hugging the larger blue one (his brother’s favorite color). They had always played with LEGOs together when they were kids.
#7 In memory of her brother
Her brother had
“Honor your truth”
tattooed on his chest with roses before he was murdered.
His sister chose to get the same wording on her back, along with her own design – a tree.
#8 A message from a friend
When they were in high school, her best friend committed suicide. As a way to remember the friend she lost, she made sure her first tattoo was one of the last handwritten messages her friend had written her.
Three years after his dad died, he got this tattoo. It’s the audio waveform of his father’s laughter.
Her friend was murdered. After the trial, she found a note that her friend had written years before. Parts of it became a tattoo.
Her mom had a favorite saying, and the daughter wanted to remember it always. She now has it tattooed on her arm in her mother’s handwriting.
she lost everything in Hurricane Katrina, but she didn’t give up. She had the plans for a new home tattooed onto her hands and she worked towards that goal every day.
The quote came from a prayer said at her father’s funeral. The signature below it was taken from a card he had signed.
When he quit heroin, it was Skyrim that gave him something else to focus on and helped him to stay clean. After six years of being clean, this was the tattoo he chose as a way of recognizing the game that helped save his life.
Both of Sean’s parents were in the hospital with cancer. Eventually, they became too sick to even visit each other. That is when his father wrote his mother a note with what strength he had left.
See the next slide to find out what Sean did with that note.
When his parents passed away from the cancer, Sean decided how he wanted to remember them. He got this tattoo based on the drawing in the note that his father had written in his last days.
His son has a scar on his head due to a battle with cancer. To make the child feel better about himself, his dad got a matching scar tattooed onto his own head.
His wife has been struggling with depression. To show his support, he got this tattoo.
When their dad passed away, two sisters decided to get matching tattoos. They kept seeing cardinals everywhere following the funeral and took it as a sign. The tattoo is a red bird for their father, and two bluebirds for their grandparents, who also helped to raise them.
Our friends can mean a lot to us. This is a tribute to a best friend who is no longer on this earth.
#21 Something to remember
Her dad left her a note shortly before he passed away. She knew she had to keep it with her always.
This tattoo was to remember a grandmother who loved birds. The clover represents her birthday, which happened to be on Saint Patrick’s Day.
To commemorate the struggles in life, as well as her finding a way through them, she got a tattoo. It’s a diamond to symbolize how unbreakable she truly is.
#24 A soldier and a grandfather
When he was 18, he got a tattoo to commemorate’s his grandfather’s life. It’s of his grandfather holding up the world in his World War II soldier’s uniform.
He used heroin for twelve years. He stopped four years ago. Each year, he gets another band added to symbolize another year clean.
This is his grandfather’s Mauthausen Concentration Camp number. When the man died at the age of 96, his grandson went out and got the tattoo of it himself to keep the circle unbroken.
His friend was a race car driver with a promising future until he was in a fatal car crash. This tattoo is to keep his memory alive.
After his grandparents passed away, he had this audio clip made into a tattoo. It’s of his grandmother reading from a letter his grandfather wrote when the man was deployed.
The words are:
“You’ve got me counting days.”
#29 A separation, not an ending
This semicolon tattoo represents a separation of a sentence rather than an ending like with a period. It is to remind people going through hard times that there are more parts to life, and there is no need to end at this one.
Her mom passed away. Before she did, she would always leave little sticky note messages everywhere. This was one of them.
His son died of SIDS. He got this waveform tattoo of the child’s laugh so he can always have it with him.
He wanted a way to remember his deceased father. Then he found a message this father wrote in his second grade yearbook. It became this tattoo.
His grandfather showed him how to locate his home on the face of the earth by using this diagram. It was his way of remembering both his grandfather and his home.
Her dad wrote her a poem when she was born. When he died, she turned that poem into a tattoo.
His sister died of cancer. She didn’t write many things in life, but she always signed her letters. This was from a scan of one of those letters.
His friend was in a hiking accident. This was his way to remember his friend while also reminding himself to be safe when climbing.
A propane line exploded in their family home, killing both of their parents and their dog. Seven months later, they got a tattoo of the home as a way to keep the memories alive.
He got a tattoo of a cochlear implant to match his daughter’s. That way, she wouldn’t have to feel alone in wearing it.
Each image is for a family member who passed away. The dates are the dates on which they passed away.
“The train is for my Papa Jim, who was a train engineer. The horse is for my Papa Don, since he adored animals.”
Every part of this sleeve was something his dad cherished or a moment that was significant in his life.
“He passed away from ALS and Multiple Systems Atrophy after suffering for 4 years on 9/14/16. The time on the clock is 9:14, which symbolizes the day he stopped suffering and was at peace once again.”
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Tattoos can have a lot of different meanings. Sometimes, it’s something simple, like lyrics we love or a symbol that represents where he have traveled in life. Often, we use tattoos for something even closer to the heart and as a way to remember loved ones we have lost, or to honor people who are struggling.
Each of these forty tattoos each come with their own powerful meaning and story.
You’ll want to see them all.
