Cremation: Another Idea for Ashes

I decided a long time ago that cremation would be my mode of "The Big Final Exit."  What I want done with my ashes afterward ... well, tossing them from the top of Monarch Pass in Colorado would be nice.  That's one of the visually outstanding places that sticks in my mind.  Another would be from the top of the Xochicalco pyramids in Mexico.  The view and buildings were breath-taking.

The other day I ran across a new idea for those of you who are scuba fans and/or are interested in helping our oceans' reefs (emphasis added) --

Sending Your Ashes Out to Sea


NBC - Sarah Spiekers stood sweating in 90-degree heat Friday, stirring a bucket of cement.

A volunteer with Eternal Reefs then slowly added the cremated remains that Spiekers brought with her, all the way from Minnesota. In all, eight family members made the trip to Sarasota to take part in this moment, at the last request of her brother, David Kemp.

"He told us over the last several years that when he died he would like to have his remains go in this direction," said Kemp's father, Jack.

Before he passed away in March after a long illness, David Kemp did a lot of research into his final resting place. Kemp loved the ocean and enjoyed snorkeling. He also was interested in reef preservation. That's why he decided to be memorialized by a Decatur, Georgia based company called Eternal Reef.

"What we do is we take people's cremated remains and integrate it with concrete," said Don Brawley, Eternal Reef founder. "We form an artificial reef habitat for fish and sea life." 

Family members can decorate the concrete domes with shells and hand prints. The reef balls also have a bronze headstone plaque on the front. Each member of the Kemp family placed something special in wet concrete.

"David just loved beautiful things," his sister said. "His life is going to be preserved by providing new life, and I just think it's so much what he would have wanted."

Brawley believes the creation of the reef ball helps the family heal.

"Originally, I thought we were in the memorial reef business and very quickly I realized we're in the closure business," he said.

It's a hands-on way for family members to say goodbye. The Kemps completed their reef ball Friday morning. Jack Kemp and his wife, Sharon, held hands as they took a last look before leaving for the day.

The Kemps are treating this as a celebration of David's life, rather than mourning his death.  "We scheduled a very happy week here in Bradenton Beach as a family," Jack Kemp said.

On Sunday, the Kemps accompanied the reef ball to its final resting place. It was taken 1 1/2 miles off Lido Beach and installed in an underwater memorial reef garden.

"We have more and more people coming to us every year," Brawley said. "I think part of the reason is, we're not just laying their loved ones to rest, but we're doing such environmental good." 

Jack Kemp says there is some peace knowing David's memorial will provide shelter for aquatic life.  "We were very pleased," he said. "Of course, we never anticipated we'd be doing it, this, so soon. He was in his 40s."

I think that's a pretty cool idea.  If you have ocean / scuba friends, you should pass this info along to them.