Storage Options After Cremation
Saying goodbye to a loved one is never easy, but taking the right steps to find closure will help. If your loved one is cremated, you must decide how to store or find a permanent resting place for the cremated remains. Many people keep an urn containing cremated remains on their mantle or shelf at home. Others choose to scatter cremated remains in nature—on land, in the air, or the water—often in a location meaningful to the deceased.
There are numerous options for honoring the individual's life in the storage or disposition of the remains. Keep reading to know the options available for storing cremated remains.
Cremation Columbarium
A columbarium is a building with niches around it where funeral urns are kept. You can store urns in these open compartments and visit them as often as you want in a peaceful setting. You can also honor your loved one's life by personalizing the niche with photographs or mementos. There are closed niches with granite front, bronze front, and glass front, where the glass-fronted niches allow the display of the urns. Columbariums are most commonly found in cemeteries but can also be found in churches, outdoor monuments, crematoriums, and other locations.
Crypt Mausoleum
A crypt mausoleum is a chamber within the mausoleum where remains can be kept. The size of the crypt determines the number of people who can be entombed in the mausoleum. A larger mausoleum may have multiple mausoleum crypts to accommodate multiple family members, whereas smaller, personal mausoleums may only have one. The mausoleum size can be customized to meet the needs of each family. This option is more expensive than storing remains in a columbarium as it requires more space.
Convert Ashes into Glass or Diamonds
A small portion of cremated remains is fused with glass using the glass blowing technique to create keep-sakes. In a few cases, some turn the ashes into synthetic, cultured, or laboratory-grown diamonds, where they are heated under very high temperatures, and the carbon in them is extracted to create diamonds.
Memorial Pieces
One of the most intriguing options for storing cremated remains is to place them inside a memorial object, such as a grave marker. You can also find memorial rocks with room for an urn, allowing the loved one to rest in nature in a location you can visit frequently.
Cremation Benches
Family estate benches, also known as cremation benches, are another popular and meaningful option for storing cremated remains. These are typically granite benches in a garden, by a lake, or by a sidewalk with space at the base for a cremation urn. Typically, the bench is adorned with a plaque that includes the name of the person buried there and a brief message from the family.
Storing in Your Home
This is one of the most common methods of storing an urn of cremated remains at home on a mantle or shelf where family members can see and remember their loved ones. This option is typically used when the urn must be shared amongst other family members and their homes. For example, if a parent passes away, their children can share storing the urn in their respective homes. However, some find this ‘urn on a mantle’ storage in one family’s home to be a challenge for other family members who want to visit at their convenience. Storage in a cemetery solves this issue.
You can contact the team at Life Remembered to learn more about cremation and storage options. We offer services required for end-of-life planning and be your trusted partner during times of grief. Contact us for more details.
