After a long prosperous life and many episodes of Star Trek
. No word yet on launching them into space. Check out Eternal Image for other name branded memorial products like Major League Baseball, Precious Moments, and university logos. They also have special products for cats and dogs.
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versus traditional burial isn't all about the cost. I believe a memorial service celebrates the life instead of the death of your loved one.
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Monterey: Courtesy of pdphoto.org
If you want to preserve the land and give back to the earth, here is your recipe. It will take some work on your part but if you are the member of a group make it a group activity. In the end you and your friends get a nice green place to spread your ashes or have your ashes interred if you like.
Step one: Locate a piece of land to preserve. Someone in your group may already have a parcel they want to maintain in a natural state that really can’t be used or developed anyway. Perhaps they see the need for more land to stay wooded to help with the environment. Check zoning laws. You can’t just select some land in a regular subdivision.
Step two: Study all laws regarding cemeteries in your state. Your state representative’s office can help with the details. If all you want to do is spread your ashes or bury them in an urn, the rules will be a lot less strict. There are “for profit” and nonprofit cemeteries. The best to set up would be the nonprofit one. So you will need a nonprofit company to actually own the land. A church would do nicely for this.
Step three: Setup a conservation easement. As explained in Wikipedia, a conservation easement is an encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights (easement) — which creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency (municipality, county, state, federal) or a qualified land protection organization (often called a "land trust"), for the purposes of conservation.
Step four: Find a land trust to take ownership of the easement. Once again, according to Wikipedia, a land trust is an agreement whereby one party (the trustee) agrees to hold ownership of a piece of real property for the benefit of another party (the beneficiary). Land trusts are used by nonprofit organizations to hold conservation easements, by corporations and investment groups to compile large tracts of land, and by individuals to keep their real estate ownership private, avoid probate and provide several other benefits. See here for books to help out.
Give it a try. I believe this is a much better way to spend your money than investing in those burial plots in a cemetery that never seem to be there when you are ready to use them.
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For scuba divers and other who just generally love the ocean, you can elect to have your ashes interred in a reef. The living memorial reef helps out the marine environment and conserves land that cemeteries would take up. Some reef burial companies are quite expensive so if you are a scuba diver, you can take the urn down yourself. A memorial reef urn mixed the ashes with concrete in the form of a habitat for underwater creatures. This creates a living reef over time once placed in the ocean. You must purchase the urn first and then have it placed in the ocean or do it yourself. Just remember that putting anything in the ocean must meet all local, state, and federal regulations.
Some companies that maintain reefs are Eternal reefs, Great Burial Reef, and Neptune Memorial.
It is a good idea to pick someone who really likes the water. If you are a scuba diver, plan on going down with the ashes to be placed at the reef. Otherwise, you can contract with a company that will take the remains down for you. You will have to see that the remains get there so they can be mixed with the concrete or placed in the urn that will be located at the reef. Reef companies do not perform the cremation so this needs to be handled separately. A temporary urn can be used at the wake until the permanent one is finished.
The wake can be held on a boat at sea or perhaps at the beach. As the wake comes to an end, the urn containing the ashes can depart on the boat for their final resting place. Consider going out to see the ashes placed at the site and then return for an evening beach memorial gathering. As the sun goes down on another day, toast the departed soul and wish them a safe journey to their next destination. Any type of marine theme for the wake along with some drinkable spirits like a good rum seem appropriate for the occasion.
This is one type of interment where you get a built in memorial that will be there for years. Companies that build the reefs will give the coordinates of your final resting place along with a video of the spot. Your relatives may visit at anytime if he or she is a scuba diver.
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Grand Canyon: Courtesy of pdphoto.org One of the most frequent questions asked about scattering ashes is can I legally transport them to that beautiful mountain place. Sure you can. Some issues may arise depending on the type of transportation you choose. Travel by car if you can but if you need to fly, you must consult with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) if you have any questions about the transport of the cremated remains on an airplane. Their current number is 1-866-289-9673 and their email is TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov.
It is also recommended that you call the airline before you purchase a ticket because each one will have their different rules. The ashes must be carried in a container that can be x-rayed in order for them to be carried on board. A cardboard box or one of these style boxes will work. Security agents are not allowed to open the urn of cremated remains.
Do not check your ashes! Some have come up missing. You certainly don’t want them staying in baggage claim with all that lost luggage.
If you intend to place anything in the box along with the ashes, wait until after the flight. In Miami, someone found a box of ashes filled with cremated remains and a watch to be buried with them. It triggered a bomb squad alert. So be careful what you place in the box. It is best to just transport the ashes alone and add the extra items at your destination.
If you plan on international travel, it gets more complicated because you have to get the specific country regulations. Do your homework. Don’t leave it to your relatives to do after you are gone. They should have very good instructions on what they need to do.
If all this seems like too much. There are companies that will ship the remains for you.
Just don’t let any of this make you decide to skip the spreading of you ashes in a truly wonderful place. Go out in style.
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This has always been a popular way to scatter ones ashes and many companies exist to help you do just that. When Ghandi died, he wanted a traditional Hindu burial but he was scattered around the country in urns so your relatives don’t always follow your wishes. However, this may be an extreme case because there were political implications with his burial. One set of his ashes were recently scattered at sea by his family. If this is the way you select, you can readily find a company to scatter your ashes in any body of water on earth. All you have to do is Google “ashes at sea”. Off the Hawaiian Islands, in the south pacific, near Antarctica, or in the Caribbean are all good places to be scattered at sea.
Sunrise or sunset makes an excellent time to scatter the ashes. Stop the boat and let it drift with the wind. Mind the wind and pick the leeward side so the ashes will blow out over the water. If you would like, mix water with the ashes so you can pour them into the water from the urn. A very nice way to spread the ashes is to place a wreathe of flowers in the water and then pour the ashes. The wreathe of flowers will give a nice focal point for the members of your family. Individual flowers can be dropped overboard while the boat drifts away from the ashes. You can also find a green floatable urn that is made from paper-mache. It will float for a few minutes and then sink. Someone should take a video or a series of pictures so don’t forget the camera. The spirit whisperer should send the departed soul on their way with a reading of something about the sea.
The wake can be as varied as the reason for the love of the sea. For the fisherman, a scheduled fishing charter and one last fishing trip. For the sailing enthusiast, a nice breeze and a sunset with all aboard. And for those who wish to stay on the beach, an evening clambake followed by guests relating their personal experiences with the sea. Bring along your favorite beverage for a toast to the celebration of a life lived well. Have your guests take some time and listen to the symphony of sounds from the sea so they will forever associate those sounds with your memory.
“Cast thy nets and hooks to claim the seas’ bountiful harvest as the ashes of my life shall drift forever upon the open sea. I pray God shall cast his net and catch my soul adding it to the bountiful harvest of Heaven.”
Since you will not be able to place a memorial in the Sea, a map with the location of your ashes can be put in a frame. Of course, your ashes will not remain where they are scattered and your relatives cannot come back to visit you. All they have to do is get to the sea wherever it touches the coast for you will be spread where the sea is present. If you select one of the new electronic picture frames, take many digital pictures and make a slide show of the area. Online memorials with poems of the sea, a few pictures of fishing trips, or just posting great ocean vistas would be a fitting memorial to the one that has passed on to a better place.
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Moonrising: Courtesy of pdphoto.org Today, you can have your loved ones remains turned into diamonds, placed in jewelry, or added to different kinds of art. It only takes about 8 oz (200 grams) of ash from the cremation to make a keepsake diamond. A very good way to remember a lost loved one and you can carry part of that person as well as their memory around with you. These cremation diamonds aren’t cheap but you can’t take all that cash you saved with you anyway. Diamonds are just one form of jewelry that you can use along with those cremains. There are a multitude of different companies that sell jewelry for keeping a part of the ashes with you. You can still have the rest of your ashes spread at your favorite place in nature. A small part would be set aside for a locket, cylinder, cross, or pendant.
Another company will combine your ashes with glass and make glass art out of it. Michelle Kaptur makes what she calls a SoulBurst. Which is glass art with ashes in
cluded in the glass. If you like paintings better, an artist will take your ashes, mix them with paint, and then he or she will paint a lovely painting as a memorial to your loved one.
Here at pyrefyre, we think you should select a spot in nature for your eternal resting place on earth but for those who want to keep a part of their loved one with them at all times, cremation jewelry is a very good thing to buy. You can still spread the rest in your favorite spot on earth.
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In the past, churches have been a place to find the traditional cemetery. Now, we are entering a time of green funerals, green cemeteries, and just green burial. These eco-funerals are changing how people decide to handle their earthly remains after death. So today, you find churches adding memorial gardens for spreading of ashes and the interment of urns. These urns may be biodegradable urns or metal urns. This article shows how a couple; Steve and Jan Cornwell, worked to add a memorial garden to St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Boulder. The church expects to add a columbarium later.
Get together with the other members of your church who are interested in green burials and who would like to have their ashes spread there on the church property. The work in building the garden is a good summer project for those willing to give of their time. The church can collect a donation from each member in exchange for an engraved brick, bench or other remembrance items in the garden. Members can buy trees or other plants they can reserve to have their ashes buried beneath when the time is ready for them. Have the pastor bless the garden and the members are all set for a final resting place near their church family
There are many possibilities for a memorial garden design. A wall containing a Bible verse with a stone ring around it is a perfect place to spread your ashes. The memorial garden can also double as a prayer garden. If this appeals to you, start a formal discussion with your church elders. We are sure you will come up with a really great place to memorialize the members of your congregation.
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St Pauls: Courtesy of pdphoto.org
The Catholic Star Herald published a story on cremation and one Catholic Diocese. It is up to the local Bishop to decide on cremation and the church service. So the local Bishop in the Diocese of Camden has approved the earthly remains being allowed in the church. The Catholic Church has permitted cremation since the 1600s but only allowed cremains in the church since 1997. The fact is that cremation just hurries along the natural decay of the body. It doesn’t affect the resurrection of the body and Spirit at a later date. Since bodies that are centuries old have already decayed and some people are unfortunate enough to be “cremated” in deaths caused by fire.
The bishop believes that as long as the body is laid to rest “with solemnity and dignity”, two things we believe are important here at Pyrefyre, cremation is acceptable and the cremated remains can be at the church service. The Catholic church still believes that a cremated body should be interned like a non cremated one but Pyrefyre believes that the spreading of the ashes should be your choice. The Bible says that we shall return to the earth with ashes to ashes and dust to dust, so we here at Pyrefyre believe God allows spreading of your ashes.
Read more...Once a Spirit Whisperer has placed the earthly remains in their final resting spot, a memorial can be erected to mark it for future visitors. If you are going to be buried on public land or lands belonging to someone else that won’t let you erect a memorial, you still can mark the place for visitors. The Spirit Whisperer will use a GPS to note the spots longitude and latitude at the time of the placement. This can be entered on a memorial certificate and framed for display. We have a certificate that you can print out just for this purpose.
People like to make scrapbooks with photos and other items from the life of the deceased. Photos can be taken at the wake as well as at the site selected for spreading the ashes. Be sure and ask your Spirit Whisperer to take digital photos of the site along with noting the latitude and longitude so you can include these in your scrapbook.
There are many items to be purchased that can contain a small part of the ashes while the rest of the ashes are spread by your Spirit Whisperer. You may even want to have the urn engraved and keep it after the ashes have been spread. Some will just select a nice engraved item to display.
The Appalachian Trail winds 2,050 mi along the ridges of the Appalachians between Mt. Katahdin, Maine, and Springer Mt., Georgia and it includes the Shenandoah and Smoky National Parks. There are a lot of good trails to select like Glacier Gorge, Breakneck Ridge Trail , Dolly Sods Wilderness or Half Dome in Yosemite just to name a few.
Many different ideas come to mind in doing the wake for someone who loves to hike or just wants to be spread on the trail. An evening campfire, sunrise breakfast, or a gathering at one of the lodges near the trail all seems very appropriate. If you must stay in the city, display pictures and maps of your favorite hikes. Your walking stick and hiking gear make great items of interest to start the discussion of the finer points of your life. You may want to give these to any hikers who attend your gathering. By all means try and hold your gathering outdoors. We suggest a picnic followed by a hike to a waterfall or other landmark where your friends and family relate tales of their time with you. Be sure and include your favorite beverage for the life toast. Check the local alcohol regulations before you serve.
This can be as elaborate or simple as your money and desire will take you. Obtain a map of the Appalachian Trail and pick a spot or several spots for your final resting place. This doesn’t have to be the Appalachian Trail; it can be any trail you have hiked or simply a trail you have wanted to hike. Don’t forget to donate money for the upkeep of the trail. After all, you would like your final resting place to be maintained for others to enjoy as you have enjoyed. You may want to visit the spots and take digital pictures. These pictures will be attached to the instructions for your spirit whisperer. Some words should be said to make it a ceremony and not just dumping of some ashes on the ground. A moment of silence reflecting on life or a simple prayer can be made for your soul’s peaceful journey.
Have your spirit whisperer deposit your remains at one designated spot anywhere on the trail. This may be all of your ashes or just some of them. You may want them buried or placed in a ring around your favorite tree. Please be sure they put them off the actual trail. You don’t want people stepping in your face everyday of the year.
This is something you can’t really ask your relatives to do unless they are a hiker who has always wanted to walk the trail and you can fund it. Have your Spirit Whisperer break the ashes up into smaller bags to make it easier to disperse along the trail. The bags can be labeled with the spots where you designate you final resting place to be.
Since you will not be able to place a memorial on most trails. A map with the location or locations of your ashes can be put in a frame. If your relatives want to visit they will know where to find you. Another good memorial is to have a tree or trees planted in your name with a plaque attached to it. Some city parks and other places will accept trees in your name with a donation of course.
This is definitely a very personal decision. When you select the spot for your final resting place, you have to consider how difficult it would be for your Spirit Whisperer to fulfill your wishes. A Spirit Whisperer is the person you have designated to cast your remains like the whisper of wind in the pines. They will gently sow your earthbound remains to return you back to mother earth from whence you came.
Most people will have a hard time just spreading the ashes in a spot they can easily access. So be mindful of what you are asking your Spirit Whisperer to accomplish for you. If you really want to be on the top of Mount Everest, you will have to hire a professional willing to make that a reality. Don’t leave it up to your relatives to climb that mountain. It is certainly unfair of you to ask them to sneak onto the Playboy Mansion property if your one desire is to spend eternity there by the pool.
One Spirit Whisperer spread his mom’s ashes at a Philadelphia stadium and then assumed the position as security hauled him away. A mom may get away with having her son risk getting arrested but be considerate before you ask your Spirit Whisperer to do something risky. One family spread their uncle’s ashes in the flowerbeds outside of Texas Stadium where the Cowboys play football. Wherever you decide, have a plan of everything you want to do, don’t make it a big time consuming production, be discrete, and you probably can’t leave a memorial to mark the spot.
lover might pick their favorite gallery. In Bristol, there is a nice lodge at the city park overlooking the mountains and the lake. There are a lot of restaurants in tourist areas overlooking a nice view that would be an appropriate place to remember a loved one. If you really wanted to splurge a little you could rent a mountain cabin. In my opinion, small intimate places are more conducive to sharing life memories than a large public place. An exception would be the skywalk over the Grand Canyon. This would be a great place to celebrate your first step into the afterlife.
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How many people reading this blog have ever thought about attending their own funeral? A lot of us have a fascination with seeing who might show up. As we all know, this isn’t a possibility unless you are missing and declared dead just like in the movies. Much like people in the movies getting amnesia, it just isn’t happening in the real world. What we are left with is leaving a will to instruct our survivors how we want people to commemorate our departure.
In recent surveys, almost 1 in 3 people were selecting cremation as their preferred choice. It is the cheaper choice over a funeral and can even be free if you donate your body to science. At pyrefyre, we think you should honor how the deceased lived their life with a memorial gathering and a spreading of ashes in their favorite spot. People have picked space, the sea, national parks, and even their favorite sports stadium to have their ashes spread. I am sure that some of you readers will have a lot more fun and exotic places that you would like for your final resting place.
A distinct advantage with cremation is the ability to schedule the gathering without regards to moving a body. An urn is much easier to transport. The gathering to commemorate your departure can be something simple like an open bar and food if you want to guarantee a big crowd or something much more elaborate. Inviting everyone to the Bonnaroo festival to honor your recently departed spirit with a weekend of live music would guarantee a big honor for you. In my mother-in-laws case, she was an artist, all she wanted was for everyone to view her art and take some home. Come join us and leave your most creative PyreFyre send off.
Read more...Contact your local cremation organization or funeral home. A lot of funeral homes will use someone else to cremate the body since most of them do not have a crematorium. The ashes will not be returned in an urn unless you buy one from them. You can also buy an urn from anyone and place the ashes in the urn once the ashes are returned to you. Some people select an urn they already own that has a special memory. The law does not require an urn but it does make it easy to transport and looks better than a box if you display the ashes. Please be sure and select a reputable company. Do all this in advance so your loved ones don’t have to worry about that during their time of grief.
Call your local newspaper or use one of these online obituary pages. I suppose if you really wanted to toot your own horn. Go ahead and do your own obituary.
http://www.funeral.net
http://www.legacy.com
http://www.americasmemorials.com
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