Jeff Sass wrote about his experience at a memorial tribute for a friend of the family.

It was a true celebration of a life, and an evening filled with much more laughter than tears.  There were probably 400 people in attendance, and a heavy presence of both law enforcement professionals and leather clad bikers, two seemingly disparate communities, yet my friend’s dad was clearly beloved by both.

To say it was inspirational would be a gross understatement.

I think I learned many things last night, but the one thing I want to try harder to focus on is to celebrate life now.  I want to celebrate my life and all that I have to be grateful for, and I want to celebrate the lives of my children and my family and all the people that I love.  I don’t want to wait for the memorial.

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 22, Ethan, 20 and Olivia, 18).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  See more of Jeff’s writing at Dadomatic.

BUNNELL, Fla. — The family of a Florida man has chosen a unique way to spread his ashes: Sending them off in fireworks during a lakeside Fourth of July celebration.

Tom Moore died unexpectedly in May, and his remains were cremated.

The central Florida man always enjoyed watching fireworks on the Fourth of July, and so his family approached a fireworks company about spreading his ashes during the celebration.

Santore & Sons agreed to accommodate the family’s request, and began packing Moore’s ashes into shells on Tuesday.

A pyrotechnic tribute to Moore will be held on Sunday.

Comments on this article are a mixed bag, and while this ash scattering ceremony isn’t for every family, it’s definitely a personalized memorial service.

We have a new line of wood cremation urns at Urn Garden. The natural beauty and warmth of wood is an excellent choice for families that plan to keep the ashes in the home or secure at a columbarium or niche at the cemetery.

Old Soul Vintage Style Wood Urn

I like the simplicity of this urn style, vintage look, hand painted details, secure lift off lid.

If your tastes run a little richer and want more flair, this gorgeous black and gold trimmed urn may be more your style.

Laurel Black and Gold Hand-Painted Wood Urn

Our attractive full-size adult urn is solid birch wood, hand-painted by our talented artists in striking black and gold accents. Antiqued brass feet.  Urn loads from the top by lifting the lid.

We recently had a family that purchased several pieces of urn jewelry as a memorial to honor the memory of their loved one. Nature themes were prominent, like the clover urn pendant

Gold Four Leaf Clover Urn Necklace

and  silver star urn necklace.

Star Pendant Urn Necklace

This month we’re featuring heart-shaped cremation urns, jewelry urns, and memorial stones. One of our favorites are the earth friendly Unity urns.

Unity Floral Urn

These beautiful urns are handmade and feature inlaid fresh flower petals. It is available in three sizes, pet or keepsake size urn, standard adult urn, or a double capacity companion urn.Each urn includes a water-soluble plastic bag for the cremated remains.

The Unity urn is designed for ground burial. Once buried it will degrade naturally over time. Available in three designs with matching keepsakes.

Pink Unity Urn

According to a letter owned by Phil Castinetti, the sports memorabilia king of New England, Red Sox legend Ted Williams had a longtime wish to be cremated immediately after his death. The letter, dated Dec. 19, 1991, is an authentic writing from the desk of Teddy Ballgame himself.

“It is my wish that no funeral or memorial service of any kind be held and that my remains be cremated as soon as possible after my death,” Williams wrote in the letter nearly two decades ago. “I want you to see that my ashes are sprinkled at sea off the coast of Florida where the water is very deep.”

Williams’ three children fought bitterly over the body of their legendary father.  In a perfect world, the letter in Castinetti’s collection would be used to do justice in the case of Ted Williams,  but rather than have his wishes carried out, Williams was taken to a lab in Arizona where his remains were kept suspended in liquid nitrogen.

Last year, a lab executive documented the brutal inhumane treatment of Williams’ head at the cryogenics center shortly after his death in 2002.

Ted Williams Death Mask

Rather than being scattered in Florida as he’d always wished, the body of the Red Sox legend was mutilated and disgraced.

In life, Williams never got the respect he deserved. The fans in Boston booed him, the media blasted him, his personal life was unstable and troubled. In death, Teddy Ballgame has been treated even worse.

Source:

Ralph B. White was a National Geographic cameraman who spent his life pursuing adventure. His friends have carried out his last wish, taking his ashes to every continent.

Continue reading…

ROME:

The Italian Bishops’ Conference is preparing to publish updated norms on funeral rites including cremation and the burial of ashes.

The manual, which will be reviewed and approved by the bishops’ conference in Assisi on November 9,  will explain that Catholic doctrine does not oppose cremation but rejects the practice of storing ashes of loved ones at home.  The document will stress that this is a violation of the work of mercy that obliges Catholics to provide a holy burial to the dead.

Keeping the ashes of the dead at home does away with the important rite of accompanying the deceased to the cemetery, “which unites the community of believers.”  Burying the ashes at a cemetery, the “place of the dead,” is what makes most sense, the bishops will add.

Scattering the ashes, according to the Italian bishops, is based on a pagan ritual that supposedly symbolized the union of the deceased with “the great soul of mother earth,” and is contrary to the Christian obligation, established by the Lord Jesus himself, to bury the dead.

Continue reading “Church in Italy to issue clarification on cremation”

Some families like to scatter ashes from way up high, this lady is releasing a keepsake amount of cremated ashes from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Or this undisclosed location:

We prefer to keep it on the down low, whether spreading ashes on the ground or over the water:

U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Gabriel Hernandez

If you plan to spread the ashes on the ground, a shallow trench or groove can be dug in the soil or sand where the ashes can be placed. This process can be personalized by drawing out the person’s name or a heart shaped trench. Add candles or luminaries around the trench to create a spiritual ambiance and can be later used as a keepsake for those that attend.  Wildflower seeds and  tree plantings are another way to personalize the event. At the end of the ceremony, participants can either rake over the remains in the trench, or have the water from the ocean sweep the remains out to sea while family and friends join hands and remember the individual’s life.