Parents don't last forever: cherish them while you can.
My mother passed away in Sept. of last year, my father on the day I was set to walk for graduation getting my Master's (2004). It changes your outlook on the world when you don't have parental units in life. 28 was too young to be an orphan, but it happened. So, yes; cherish them indeed.
When I've sent flowers to a funeral, I intended it for the living people who were grieving.
I had the experience of losing my father when I was 17 or 18. It made a lasting impression, and I always try to send flowers/call the parents/grandparents that are left to let them know somebody is thinking of them.
I used to send my grandmother flowers every Mother's Day. Some years I was the only grandkid to do so, or to call. When she died a couple of years ago, I didn't buy a single flower for the funeral -- I had already done all of my flower-buying for her when it mattered: when she was still alive.