“Anybody that dies from gittin’ trampled to death at Wal-Mart is bound to want his money back on that. I know I would. That’s a bad way to go, there.” Eve Cleveland

Purple was said to be Cleopatra’s favorite color. The ancients created the unique color from the mollusk shell, and the expense was so great that only royals could afford to wear it.

We’ve covered the power of purple in earlier posts. Purple has a special, almost sacred place in nature: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are often delicate and considered precious. We’ve tried to capture the spirit of purple in our exclusive urn collection.

Moonlight Bohemian Urn

Purple Metal Urns

Purple Pet Urn

Maple Leaf Urn Pendant

Stainless Steel Engraved Urn

Cloisonne Nature Series Urn

Ceramic Elk Keepsake Urn

Tree of Life Urn

Legends of the Fall Urn

Our nature series, “Seasons of Life” fine art urns, excellent quality craftsmanship. Available in matching keepsake urn sizes and companion (double capacity) urns.

Timeless Symbols of Protection:

In many cultures, the horn is believed to be the symbol of life and eternity. In ancient Italy the horn charm or amulet was worn in as protection against evil spirits and has also been linked to Celtic and Druid myths and beliefs. In pre-Christian Europe, animal horns pointed to the moon goddess and were considered sacred.

Italian Horn Urn Jewelry

The Italian Horn urn necklace is available in sterling silver, 14K gold. Comes with silk cord.

The fish symbol is representative of the Christian faith and has ancient roots in the Celtic and Druid culture. This discreet urn pendant holds a trace amount of ash, flowers, hair, or other small memento. Available in sterling silver and 14K gold.

Ithicus Fish Urn Jewelry

Deena Pulaski, knows all about the roller coaster ride of being a small business owner in LaPorte, Indiana .

Deena and her husband, Casmir Pulaski own the Lakeview Funeral Home, Midwest Crematorium Center and a retail web site, theurnstore.com. Casmir is a licensed funeral director and embalmer. Deena is a licensed pre-need insurance counselor and mother of two boys, in high school and 2nd grade.

After graduating from mortuary school, Casmir worked as a funeral director and quickly saw a business opportunity as a trade embalmer serving a 60 mile area that covers both Indiana and Michigan. He’s licensed in both states. After building on his contacts, he added a crematory in 2005.

When the Pulaski’s decided to offer direct cremation to the public for $895.00, it wasn’t well received with the local competition. La Porte is a bedroom community of approx. 22,000 with three long established funeral homes in town, and at least 15 more in the surrounding area. Operators were less than thrilled when a year later the Pulaski’s moved in to a vacant lawn and garden center building on the busiest county road in the state.

“We always knew that we’d own a funeral home, but imagined that we’d purchase an existing business, and it would be later than sooner!” said Deena

“We just didn’t expect it to happen so soon, but when this place became available, we felt like we had to do it. ” The two-story building has lots of natural light, a wide front porch with adjacent property that can handle future development. The Lakeview Funeral Home is the only funeral home in LaPorte with it’s own crematory.

“When the weather’s been nice, we’ve been able to have some nice military services outdoors. The families really seem to like the change of scenery.”

The location has been good for the Pulaski’s. Competing with 100 year old firms in the area, Deena expected that it would take several years to build the business. “By our second year anniversary we had already surpassed our projections.” Casmir still has travels, but has been able to reduce time on the road and even savor a rare long weekend.

As part of our ongoing “Women in Funeral Service” series, I recently had the pleasure to visit with Deena Pulaski. Deena and her husband, Casmir, just celebrated their two year anniversary at their new funeral home, Lakeview Funeral Home and Crematory in LaPorte, Indiana.

“We always knew that we’d own a funeral home, but imagined that we’d purchase an existing business, and it would be later than sooner.” said Deena

Deena was gracious enough to discuss take time out of her busy schedule to discuss some of the challenges of being being the new kid on the block in a small community of long established funeral homes, as well as some of the trends she sees with the families she serves.

Other than new product announcements and updates, Life in the Garden will be on hiatus for a bit.