What Do We Do With Dad’s Ashes?

By: Michael Lynch – Tobin Brothers Funerals
Friday, June 20, 2014

Recent research indicates an increasing preference by those client families taking out a fixed price funeral plan, for cremation over burial.

Whilst many of those opting for cremation have cited cost or concern for the environment as determining factors, others have based their decisions upon a change of heart by the Roman Catholic Church. Since 1983 a revision of Vatican canon law has allowed both cremation and burial as means of honouring the body of a deceased Catholic.

But the still unanswered question for many people in favour of cremation is, what to do with a loved one’s ashes, or cremated remains as they are referred to by those in the funeral industry. In fact there are many ways to memorialise cremated remains – some fairly obvious, some not so.

Some people may opt to have the ashes placed in the ground, in a wall niche or columbarium at a cemetery; others may decide to scatter them on a private property or at a place that held some special significance for the deceased. It’s important to remember however that before ashes can be scattered onpublic property, such as a beach, park, or football field, permission must be sought from the appropriate authority.

In more recent times, some people have chosen to have some of their loved ones cremated remains placed inside a pendant worn around the neck. Another ‘jewellery’ option is to have a small portion of the cremated remains crushed into a gemstone that’s identical to a natural diamond. This process, with the aid of modern technology will take just a few months to accomplish.

One company has suggested that someone who was a nature lover or a devotee of water sport, might like to have his or her ashes turned into an artificial coral reef which can be placed on the sea bed or if for you the sky’s not the limit, why not consider having yours or your loved ones cremated remains shot into outer space. One American company is currently offering a number of options for the ‘celestial’ disposition of cremated remains, but be warned, all come with sky high price tags.

If however, all you want is some form of attractive receptacle in which to keep the ashes of your loved one, we at Tobin Brothers Funerals offer a range of beautifully crafted urns which you can view right now on our website:

www.tobinbrothers.com.au/arranging-a-funeral/cremation-urns.html

Leave a comment
Name*:
Email:
Comment*:
Please enter the numbers and letters you see in the image. Note that the case of the letters entered matters.

Comments

Please wait

Previous Posts

#SayItNow Returns for 2024

#SayItNow returns for 2024 #SayItNow returns in 2024 as Victorians join the conversation to celebrate the important people in their lives. Victorians young and old are being encouraged to celebra...

Introducing… Tough Times from the Heart

Introducing… Tough Times from the Heart Tobin Brothers Funerals has joined forces with SPAN CV to bring greater awareness to suicide prevention. 3144 Australians died by suicide in 2021, accordin...

The day Queen Elizabeth II came to Frankston

It was Friday 7th March 1986 and I was 15 years old, attending Ballam Park Technical School in Frankston.  One of the largest schools in the area, Ballam Park had been selected for Que...

Celebrating Father Gerard Dowling

  Today we would like to pay tribute to Fr Gerard Dowling OAM DE. In recent weeks he celebrated his 90th birthday and also the 49th anniversary of him being on air with the Family Counsellor...

Tobin Brothers are here to help

  Funerals are an important time for family and friends to come together as a community to express our love and process our thoughts and feelings about the death of someone we love. The funer...

Coronavirus Assistance

On 30 January 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. ...

Tobin Brothers Foundation Awards the Forgotten & Ignored

There are so many people in our community who are repeatedly ignored, unacknowledged or forgotten and the many small organisations striving to help them are fighting an uphill battle to obtain fund...

Black Saturday Fires 10 Years On

Ten years on and this is the first time we have shared reflections on Tobin Brothers involvement in the Black Saturday fires and their aftermath. The 7th of February is my wife Louise’s birthday.&...

Funerals Are Too Important To Leave To Just Anyone

As Managing Director of Australia’s largest owned family funeral company, Tobin Brothers Funerals, I would like to make the following comments on the widely reported alleged coffin swapping by Hart...

It’s your funeral, an investigation of death care in the Funeral Industry in Australia Comment

  As Managing Director of Tobin Brothers I’d like to make the following comments on a recently released paper “It’s your funeral, an investigation of death care in the Funeral Industry...