Trendy ways to dispose of your ashes.
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There is always room for improvement. We have motorized toothbrushes, clap lights and beds that mold to our form for a better night’s sleep. With all of these technological advances making it easier to customize just about anything, it’s no surprise that people are finding new ways to add a little pizzazz to their lives…and afterlives. Don’t let your ashes waste away in a raggedy old urn on someone’s shelf. Here are some creative options for your cremated remains.
Eternal Reefs.
If you have an affinity for aquatic life, Eternal Reefs may offer the perfect paradise to spend the afterlife. Eternal Reefs grew out of founder Don Brawley’s Reef Ball Foundation, the leader in scientifically designed artificial reefs. Memorial reefs are made of environmentally safe cast concrete that is used to create new marine habitats for fish and other forms of sea life. Cremated remains (cremains) are added to the cement mixture to cast designated reef formations. The memorial reefs are then taken to a curing area and later placed in the permitted ocean location selected by the deceased person, or their friends and family. According to Brawley, families participate in every step of the process, taking part in casting, decorating the reef with hand prints or messages, taking pictures of the memorials and finally going out on a boat to watch the placement of the reefs. Prices for these reefs range from $995 to $4995 with the smallest reef weighing 400 pounds at two feet high and the largest weighing 4,000 pounds at four feet high. Over 300 memorial reefs have been placed off the coasts of Florida, Texas, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. For more info visit www.eternalreefs.com.
Angels Flight Inc.
Rather meet your maker with a bang – a really big one? Take the Hunter S. Thompson approach. California’s Angels Flight can arrange for you to go out in a blaze of fireworks – literally. Cremains are placed in fireworks shells and shot into the air in a specially choreographed display of shapes and colors. Choose from a marine, beach, or shore service package for prices ranging from $3,250 to $3,900. For an additional charge you can have limousine service and get your ash blasting event catered and photographed. Visit www.angels-flight.net for more info.
Eternal Ascent Society.
Looking for a mellower alternative to being shot out of a fireworks shell? The Eternal Ascent Society may provide a better plan for you to kiss the sky. Cremains are put into a biodegradable balloon, inflated with helium, and released in the family’s location of choice. Then things really get interesting. At about a height of six miles, where the temperature is 40 degrees below zero, the balloon freezes and fractures. POOF!!! Your ashes are scattered. Interested? Visit www.eternalascent.com.
Life Gem.
Imagine the bling bling you’re wearing was dear old grandpa. You always thought he was a gem, and now he can be one. Illinois company Life Gem takes the ashes of a deceased loved one and turns them into diamonds (to be set into a ring, necklace, earrings, etc.). The carbon is extracted from eight ounces of a person’s cremated remains, turned into graphite and exposed to heat and pressure, mimicking the forces within the earth that create natural diamonds. These diamonds of death come in varying shades of blue or yellow (each diamond has its own unique shade) and can range from .20 to 1.25 carats. But blinging your loved one will cost you. The prices range from $2,699 for a .20-.29 carat yellow diamond to $19,999 for a .90-.99 carat one (prices are for stones only). Yellow diamonds are ready in about six months, while blue diamonds are ready in about nine (they currently only come in these two colors, although they are working on creating a white diamond). Life Gems can also be made from a pet’s cremated remains. So now Fluffy can sit on your hand instead of your lap. For more information, visit www.lifegems.com.
Memory Glass.
Someone apparently got quite creative after staring at a snow globe, because now, your ashes or those of a departed loved one can live inside a perfect glass sculpture, thanks to the Memory Glass company in Santa Barbara, California. A small amount is used to comprise a swirl within the globe (the rest of the ashes would either need to be kept in an urn, buried, or scattered). Glass is fired and hand blown, then rolled over colored glass and ash, which makes up the swirls within the globe. A sphere of either 4 to 5 inches tall, and weighing 2 to 4 pounds, or a smaller one measuring 2 to 3 inches tall, and weighing 1 to 2 pounds is the resulting product. If you’re worried about Aunt Pat matching the furniture, fear not – the spheres come in 14 different colors, ranging from clear to red to aqua to black, all featuring the distinct beige-brown swirl of the ashes within. There are options for different designs and “wraps” within the sculpture, as well as different stands, including one featuring two LED lights that illuminate the entire globe. The price for the “Large Memory Glass” is $250 and the “Small Memory Glass” is $170. Wraps and stands are extra. For $80, Memory Glass also offers “Memory Glass Pendants,” small glass discs, “roughly the size of three stacked quarters,” designed to be worn on a necklace. This is definitely one glass sculpture you don’t want to break. For more information, visit www.memoryglass.com.
Source: xpress.sfsu.edu
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