The number of people opting for cremation over traditional burial may be on the rise across the United States, but nowhere is the trend more evident than in Florida.

Since 1958, the cremation rate in North America has risen from approximately 5 percent to nearly 35 percent. According to projections by the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), cremations will lead across the country by 2025. But in Lee County, Florida alone, cremations accounted for 64 percent of final arrangements made in 2008, almost twice the number of burials and entombments combined.

Economy, ecology, and geography fuel cremation trend
In addition to the reasons commonly cited for choosing cremation – such as lower costs, environmental concerns, and religious customs, for example – Florida’s geography may also contribute to the Sunshine State’s increasing cremation rate. Funeral directors say that people who relocate to sunny coastal areas often leave behind their social networks; without friends and family nearby, traditional burial in a traditional cemetery doesn’t have the significance it might have in one’s hometown.

Florida also offers some unique alternatives for the final disposition of cremains, rather than placing a stationary cremation urn in a columbarium niche or on a library shelf. For the adventurous, Celestis, Inc., a Houston-based company, will handle cremation arrangements and send the cremated remains into space via private-industry satellites launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. Water lovers and those who are looking for an environmentally friendly alternative to burial, on the other hand, can have their ashes buried in artificial coral reefs in the ocean floor.

Florida is also the original home of the Neptune Society, an organization that assists people in planning their cremations in advance. Founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1973, the Neptune Society now has offices in 45 locations throughout the country.

Baby boomers, many of whom are now retiring to Florida, also contribute to the growing support for cremation in Florida and elsewhere. According to Silvia Marchini, a sales manager for the Neptune Society in Fort Myers, boomers are “not as traditional” as their parents were.

Even as cremation gains popular acceptance as a solution to the problem of cemetery overcrowding and the harsh environmental impacts inherent in traditional burial, some say cremation doesn’t go far enough to mitigate environmental concerns.

Among the latter is an Australian engineering company that hopes to import and employ a technology known as resomation. The process uses chemicals at high temperatures to dissolve human bodies, yielding liquid remains that could be used as fertilizer, as well as a dry bone residue that could be kept in a cremation urn.

Handmade Biodegradable Box Cremation Urn

Resomation uses less energy than cremation while eliminating the need to dedicate more and more land space to burials. In resomation, bodies are dissolved in lye in stainless steel cylinders comparable to pressure cookers. Although the technology is not yet in widespread use, two U.S. universities are using resomation to dispose of cadavers donated for medical research.

In 2008, the New South Wales Department of Lands released a discussion paper on sustainable disposal of corpses, detailing the plight of Sydney’s eight Crown land cemeteries, all of which are expected to be full by 2035.

Cremation is cited in the paper as one way to ease the pressure on cemeteries; however, concerns have been raised that the release of pollutants, such as mercury from dental fillings, makes cremation a less sustainable option than many think. Proponents of resomation say the technology’s big advantage is that it relies less on fossil fuels than either burial or cremation.

Sen. Jacobsen (who wants to be buried with his deceased cat Sam when the time comes), pointed out that the practice of burying humans with their pets is an ancient tradition dating to the Egyptian pharaohs. In Jacobsen’s view, the state has no business getting between him and Sam. “I’m tired of the nanny state worrying about me and my cat,” he said. “I assume there’s a lot of people out there with pets who understand the connection.”

Concessions and Restrictions Couldn’t Save Bill
SB 5063 would have allowed (but not required) cemeteries, upon written request, to bury human owners with their cremated pets. The pet’s remains could be placed in the burial plot before, after, or at the time of the owner’s passing.

Several concessions and restrictions were written into the bill. For example, an earlier version didn’t require that the pet be cremated and would have forced cemeteries to allow animals to be interred with their owners. In its final form, the bill limited allowable pets to cats and dogs and required that pet and owner be buried in the same plot.

Many cemetery owners opposed the legislation on the grounds that burying humans and animals together would violate the customs and traditions of some cultures and religions. According to Paul Elvig, former president of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, “The ultimate insult to a Muslim would be to bury a dog or a cat near or around a [human] burial grounds,” he said. Other cemetery owners worried about potential lost revenues if they agreed to bury humans and pets together.

Support Wasn’t Enough
As Jacobsen observed when he introduced the bill in January, nobody in the Legislature took the bill seriously. The idea did receive the support of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, however, and Jacobsen received several emails from pet owners and families of deceased pet owners who wrote about their desire to be buried with their pets. In the end, the bill lacked the support to get to a vote.

With the demise of SB 5063, Florida remains the only state with an existing law allowing people to be interred with their deceased pets.

Temporary Cremation Urn

Following the death of 69-year-old Pauline Corthell, her daughter, Noel Nightingale, thought long and hard about what to do with the plastic urn that contained her mother’s cremains. Ultimately, Noel decided to honor Pauline’s memory by burying her ashes in the family’s cemetery plot in Laramie, Wyoming.

On March 28, Noel and her husband boarded an Alaska Airlines flight for Denver at Sea-Tac Airport. Before their flight, Noel reviewed the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) guidelines for transporting the deceased. She packed the urn containing her mother’s ashes in a box and placed the box in her luggage, which she checked at the airport, confident she was complying with all regulations.

Temporary Cremation Urn Package

A shocking discovery
Upon landing in Denver, Noel and her husband drove to Laramie for the burial service. The ground had been opened to receive Pauline’s cremains and a headstone was in place, but when Noel’s husband opened the suitcase and removed the urn, it felt much lighter than it had when they packed it. They discovered a note from the TSA, informing them that their luggage had been inspected; when they opened the urn, Pauline’s ashes were missing. The note did not mention what happened to the cremains.

At first Nicole blamed herself, thinking she must have done something wrong, but she had not. The TSA’s website warns that if a passenger wishes to bring a cremation urn onboard the plane in their carry-on luggage, inspectors must be able to view the urn’s contents through the x-ray machine. But Noel checked the suitcase containing the urn rather than carrying it on, and the TSA’s website clearly states:

Out of respect to the deceased and their family and friends, under no circumstances will a screener open the container even if the passenger requests this be done.

The TSA is now attempting to identify the screener who inspected Noel’s luggage and find out what was removed and why.

More guidelines for transporting cremated remains
The TSA’s website offers some additional guidelines for flying with a cremation urn:

• Cremation papers or documentation from the funeral home or crematory alone are not sufficient to allow an urn to pass through the airport security checkpoint. Inspectors must be able to view the urn’s contents on the x-ray.
• Passengers should check with the airline they will be flying, as some airlines do not allow cremated remains in checked baggage.
• Because cremation urns are made of different materials and thicknesses, passengers are encouraged to purchase an urn made of a lighter weight material that can be successfully X-rayed.

Lost luggage is a fairly common problem, and passengers can gain peace of mind by purchasing an urn that’s certain to pass inspection for carry-on. The Temporary Cremation Urn Package includes an airplane-safe black plastic temporary urn with a top-opening snap lid, a shipping box, and a plastic liner bag and twist-tie. An optional identification plate can be engraved with identifying information, reducing the risk of loss. Again, be sure to ask your airline about their policy regarding transportation of cremated remains.

First aired in the autumn of 2007, The Undertaking tells a timeless story of life, death and dying from the perspective of a family of funeral directors and the people they serve, both living and dead. Based on a book by Thomas Lynch (The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade), the documentary leaves no stone unturned as it explores seldom-touched aspects of death, grief and funeral customs.

Lynch and his family have been in the funeral business for three generations. Alan Ball, creator of the Emmy®- and Golden Globe®-winning series Six Feet Under, describes Lynch as a “brilliant, soulful writer” and acknowledges that Lynch’s writings were a primary source of inspiration for the popular HBO series, which also centers around a family-owned funeral home.

From its somewhat gruesome, yet fascinating, glimpses into embalming, corpse care and the sifting of cremated remains, to the practicalities of caskets, crematories and cemetery plots, to poignant stories of grief and loss, The Undertaking focuses on the experiences of several real-life human beings as they boldly look death in the face:

• Anne Beardsley, whose beloved aunt, Mary Leonard, died at age 84, shortly after being diagnosed with lung cancer. After taking time to prepare for her aunt’s death, Anne seemed surprised at the wave of grief that overcame her when Mary finally passed.
• David King, whose father, Dennis, died at age 72 after a brief bout with cancer. David, once skeptical about the value of funerals, gained a newfound respect and appreciation for the rituals that helped him come to terms with his father’s passing.
• Robert Kelly, who visited Lynch to make funeral arrangements for himself and his wife. Kelly described the “relief” of knowing that their sons won’t have to answer a lot of questions and make difficult choices when he and his wife die.

But perhaps the most moving story chronicled in The Undertaking is that of Nevada and Anthony Verrino, whose two-year-old son Anthony was born with a rare genetic condition and ultimately died from complications related to the disorder. With profound courage and generosity of spirit, the Verrinos share their heartbreaking journey. (Watch Nevada Verrino as she delivers the eulogy at her son’s funeral.)

The Undertaking is also available on DVD.

After research and testing, the Wests acquired a patent on a process in which cremated remains of a human or pet are placed in a 5-foot wide, helium-filled balloon. The balloon is then transported to the release site, where family members say their good-byes and let go. The balloon expands as it rises slowly to an altitude of 30,000 feet, then crystallizes and bursts, releasing the ashes to the heavens.

Although the ultimate balloon ride isn’t cheap – costs run from $1,000 to $2,000 for humans and around $600 for pets, in addition to cremation costs – it is an environmentally friendly way to go. The balloon itself is biodegradable, and the process was deemed hazard-free before the patent was issued.

Awareness of Eternal Ascent’s services grew through media coverage and word-of-mouth, and in 2003 Clyde and Joan began to license franchises to funeral professionals for a fee of $20,000. Today there are five Eternal Ascent franchises in Florida, New Hampshire and Virginia.

Trinity Memorial Vessel

Memorial jewelry has come a long way since ornate brooches containing locks of hair from deceased loved ones were made fashionable by Queen Victoria in the late 1800s.

Today, cremation jewelry comes in almost countless styles, all designed to hold a tiny portion of cremated remains, burial earth or dried funeral flowers or a lock of hair. One popular example is the Trinity Heirloom Vessel, named for the distinctive triquetra symbol, or trinity knot, displayed on the pendant’s presentation box.

Designed and created by a professional jeweler, the Trinity Heirloom Vessel can be worn as a beautiful pendant or displayed in a glass-domed case. Contents are visible through three window panels around the cylinder, which will accommodate up to three lines of engraved text, with up to
15 characters per line.

Trinity Memorial Vessel

Each heirloom vessel comes with a 20-inch silver chain, instructions and a funnel to aid in placing the contents into the cylinder, which is enclosed by a threaded, dual-gasket seal. A general household glue or epoxy may be used to permanently seal the opening for additional security.

Should the day come when you must actually make good on your promise, you may find comfort in knowing that scattering your friend’s cremains needn’t involve parachutes, bungee cords or mountain-scaling gear. For fees ranging from less than $200 to $450 or more, ash-scattering services with names like Air Legacy, Aerial Missions, Scatterings and Heaven’s Wings will release cremated remains during a flight over your specified location.

Earl Haskins of Air Legacy provides aerial ash scattering services for the Colorado Rocky mountain region and parts of Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.  Earl does his aerial scatterings with a Cessna 182.  This particular model is considered high performance and is necessary in order to fly at high altitudes in the mountainous regions.  Families who use Air Legacy’s service say it’s a very emotional event.  The trail the ashes leave behind when released from the plane represents the last physical existence of a loved one.

In addition to the flight and scattering, the basic fee typically includes a certificate of disposition bearing the date, time and GPS coordinates of the release, along with any permits required by local ordinance. For an additional fee, some companies will allow passengers to board the flight or coordinate an “observed release” at a specific time and place so that family and friends may witness the scattering from the ground.