The story of Uncle Eddie’s ashes
I don’t spend time thinking about my funeral or my final wishes, but many people feel this is wholly important.
My husband’s aunt and uncle showed us their plot on top of a hill in Beckley, West Virginia, many years ago when they were quite young. Their names and birthdates were engraved on brass markers leaving the year of their death blank, of course. The aunt said, “I feel peaceful knowing I will be right here when the time comes.”
These relatives are steadfast in their pilgrimage to put flowers on all family members’ graves. There is a need for many who grieve to have a place to visit and pay their respects. Some of us erect altars in our homes, while others choose to pay homage in spreading their ashes in a favorite place.
A friend of mine recently told me a story about the cremation of her beloved Uncle Eddie. Maryann wrote, “He loved to fish, so it was only fitting that he be buried at sea. So my cousin chose a day for us to get together at the local river.
“After saying a few words and having a few laughs as well as tears, my cousin opened the urn and as we bid farewell to Eddie, a gust of wind blew the ashes back onto our faces, into our hair and all over our jackets. We screamed, laughed and then cried so hard that even the seagulls flew away. We wore Uncle Eddie home that day.”
I told Maryann’s story to my friend Marty, who told me about salt urns. My Google search revealed you can purchase a salt urn handcrafted by skilled artisans from blocks of Himalayan rock salt. They dissolve within four hours and are designed to float briefly so you can bid farewell before the urn gracefully sinks into the water. You can watch a video. Of course you can.
Options include sand urns, paper urns and even turtle urns. The sand urns come with custom protective packaging that provides a convenient and discreet option for transportation. The website claims they will pass airport security. Uncle Eddie could have traveled to the Danube or to the Nile instead of New Jersey.
If you want a unique coffin instead of an urn, there are plenty of options, too. An Italian company offers Capsula Mundi Eco Coffins, which are egg-shaped and made of starch and plastic. The body is placed within the capsule in a fetal position and planted in the ground like a bulb. You can lie next to your hyacinth, but you won’t bloom again next year.
A company called Creative Coffins offers caskets which look like iPhones, super Nintendo or Apple computers. I am not making this up.
Whatever you decide, the average cost of a funeral in 2015 was about $8,000 to $10,000 while the average cremation cost was between $600 and $800. I bet the turtle variety cost a bit more.
For me the most important issue regarding my death is that the box on my license be checked donor. If any of my organs still work, I hope another human being can use them.
For my part, my family should know I want a modest biodegradable urn resting on the ocean floor. I may find Uncle Eddie and tell him the truth about his ashes. He can have the last laugh.
