I have become custodian of the ashes of my two parents and my husband. I would like a suitable receptacle for their mortal remains. The problem is… I’m not terribly satisfied with what I’ve found so far.
I definitely want something very sturdy, so ceramics are out. For my husband, at least, I’d like an image of a hawk on it (his long-term nickname was Thunderhawk, just like I’ve gone by Broomstick since before the internet). My parents want a dual accommodation, so the single-person urns are out and I’ve not been terribly thrilled with the double-size ones I’ve found.
Partly, it’s difficult emotionally shopping for this sort of thing. I also don’t need something officially for “cremains”, it could be from outside the funeral industry.
So… I’m asking the Dope, because we always seem to have someone that knows the answer to a problem. Any ideas/suggestions?
No, but I can find out in a day or so (have to get ready for work right now, otherwise I’d be off to remains). Although a quick google indicates 180-200 cubic inches is good for 1 person, I guess 300-400 would work for double-occupancy.
(ETA the site I just linked has a search feature where you start out clicking human or animal, then enter the original weight of the person–I entered 150 lb at random and it gave 150 cubic inches volume.)
i apologies if this is phrased poorly, but you seem like a fairly straight shooter and not overly super sentimental.
Is it necessary for the container to contain… all? of the remains? If there were a smaller container that was more visually in line with what you were thinking about, would it be a deal-breaker if there were… leftovers?
I’m truly trying not to be disrespectful, just i’ve never dealt with cremated remains and i’m not sure if it’s proper to even acknowledge that the physical remains are actually a frangible sort of thing.
there are lots of art containers and pottery/cast metal designs out there, but they very often tend to be smaller volume. there are often some really interesting and personable ones on etsy.
deep apologies in advance if this isn’t appropriate or helpful.
Would you be able to get a simple box urn like this and then have it engraved or laser etched with a hawk somewhere else? That might be your best bet for a true hawk design.
Also, it seems as though it should be easy enough to find a box along those same dimensions that’s not being sold as an urn but anything 220-220 cubic inches just throws back results for urns from Google.
For quite awhile I had part of mom and dad had part. Some people do wind up, for lack of a better word, sub-divided among multiple people. Said remains may or may not be reunited later. Or dispersed. Or some kept and some dispersed. There’s jewelry meant to contain some ashes or some hair or both. Really, there’s a wide range of what’s done with human ashes.
For me and mine it’s not a problem. Other people are, shall we say, less rational about the whole thing. So, really, it varies and you’re wise to tread carefully until you know how someone feels about the matter.
True, however, my parents’ wishes were that their remains be reunited after the second of the pair died, and I’d kind of like to keep my spouse all in one jar (and probably to join him later, after I’m gone, but I hope that will be quite some time in the future).
I responded to this fellow a bit at length, but I want to thank everyone contributing ideas and links here, it is appreciated.
The other thing is that that can act as an urn liner, so if I could get something ceramic (for example) that it would fit in that might work - my concern with breakable urns is that if they do break I might lose the ashes inside. Which, needless to say, I don’t want to do.
It was a classic brass old style fire extinguisher. As my brother was a volunteer fireman we found this fitting. And since it was not something specifically designed for the funeral industry it did not cost a fortune. Maybe you could find something outside the funeral industry from an antique shop or even a rummage sale?