Selection of Cremation Urn Honors Our Love for Deceased
My aunt died suddenly and unexpectedly far from her home. In accordance with her wishes, my uncle arranged for her body to be cremated but was too grief-stricken at the time to choose an appropriate vessel to hold her cremains. The crematory placed my aunt’s cremains in a temporary cardboard container and my uncle returned home. He intended to choose a more fitting, lasting cremation urn and hold a memorial service for the family, but grief slowed his steps and, in the end, fate intervened. Tragically, cancer felled my uncle just six months after my aunt’s death.
Overwhelmed with grief for both his parents and the burden of handling their estates from half a continent away, their son returned to his hometown and the solace of family to honor his parents. From his home in Oregon, my cousin was able to arrange for his father’s cremation and select a handsome cremation urn. Unfortunately, he did not realize that his father had never been able to select a permanent vessel to hold his mother’s cremains. By the time he arrived home, there wasn’t time to make the appropriate arrangements before the scheduled memorial service.
At the memorial service, on a linen-draped table, sat the cremains of my aunt and uncle — my aunt’s cremains in a plain, cardboard box and my uncle’s in a beautiful, hand-rubbed, cherry hardwood urn adorned with a sculpted rose ornament. The urn my cousin selected for his father reflected both my uncle’s skill as a wood carver and his passion for growing roses. The contrast between the two containers was jarring. My cousin was devastated that his and his father’s love for my aunt was not being reflected at that important moment in the vessel that housed my aunt’s cremains. Though the family, of course, understood; it added to my cousin’s pain.
My cousin has since selected for his mother’s cremains an elegant Jefferson mahogany cremation urn that reflects her grace and beauty. Finished in hand-rubbed cherry, it makes a fitting companion piece to the cremation urn he selected for his father’s cremains. Both vessels now command a place of honor in my cousin’s home, but my cousin still regrets that on the day when he most wanted to demonstrate to friends and family his love for both his parents, he was unable to do so.
Even when distance separates you from your family, Cremation Options can assist you in making end-of-life arrangements that will convey the love and respect you feel for your departed loved ones. Through our nationwide network of licensed cremation professionals, Cremation Options can assist you in arranging for cremation, selecting a fitting cremation urn and arranging a memorial service. Please contact Cremation Options for complete information about our services.