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Although traditionally the option of choice in handling the deceased has been a casket burial, cremation is starting to become a more popular choice for many. For those families that select cremation, there are several different ways to handle the cremation remains, also known as “cremains”.
The most common way of handling cremains is by placing them in an urn. There are many types and styles of urns, which allows families to select one that has significance to the deceased. Urns are made from a wide-range of materials, including metal, bronze, wood, ceramic, glass and even earth-friendly materials for those who would like a “green” urn. Many families opt to keep the urn in their home, while others would prefer to bury the urn in a cemetary. To learn more about urns, please view our website link: http://www.phaneuf.net/_mgxroot/page_10719.php.
Another popular option is scattering cremains over the ocean or at sea. This process can be done only over international waters. It has been discovered that in addition to the closure one may receive by scattering over water, the human ashes can also help improve coral reefs.
There are now ways for cremains to be included in paintings. A Pennsylvania artist, Michael Butler, among others throughout the country have dedicated their artistic abilities to creating artwork incorporating cremation remains. He creates unique paintings focused around something meaningful to the family of the deceased. He is among several artists across the country who have decided to focus on memorial art.
A local New Hampshire woman, Sheryl Kelly of Embraced Jewelry, has also found a way to incorporate cremation remains into unique keepsakes. Using cremation ashes, she creates beads for memorial bracelets, necklaces and rosaries. In addition to making beads with cremains, she can also incorporate funeral flowers, fabrics or other materials that have significance to the loved one into the beads.
Pendants and other keepsake urns are also a way to hold your loved one’s cremains near. Cremation remains may be placed inside a pendant, possibly in the shape of a heart, cross or tear drop, and can either be worn on a necklace or displayed in a dome.
The choice on how you handle the cremains of your loved one is purely based on what you feel is right and best for you and your family. We hope that you find peace and closure in making that decision.
Please comment on how you would want your cremation remains handled or ways you have handled cremation remains of your loved ones.
Thirty years ago, the cremation rate in the United States was about 1%. Currently, the national cremation rate is at about 40%, which is expected to go up to 60% in 2025. In New Hampshire, our cremation rates are one of the highest in the country per capita, at over 60%.
With burial costs between $5,000 and $10,000 and cremation costs ranging from $1,000-$3,000, there is a growing number of people who are choosing cremation as a more affordable option when dealing with the death of a loved one.
Aside from affordability, there are other factors that contribute to the decision of cremation. The size of an urn is dramatically smaller than a coffin, and in some parts of the country, burial space is running scarce. There is an increase in the number of people with Hindu or Buddhist beliefs in Southern NH. Both of these religious beliefs involve cremation of the deceased.
Do you have a preference of cremation or burial? Does your family or religion have a set of beliefs towards or against cremation? What are your reasons for wanting to be traditionally buried or cremated?
What is resomation?
Resomation is an alternative process for the disposal of human remains using alkaline hydrolysis. The process was first proposed as a method of disposing of cows infected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) because the end product is a sterile, genetically-free green-brown liquid, containing ash, chemical components (amino acids, peptides, sugars, salts), and porous bone fragments. The creators, the British firm Resomation Limited, claim the process is much more ecologically friendly than cremation.
The body is placed into a silk bag within a metal frame, then lowered into the resomation chamber. The chamber is filled with a high-temperature (160 degrees Celsius) mixture of water and potassium hydroxide which is pressurized to prevent boiling, and the process takes approximately three hours. The bone ash is generally processed in a cremulator and can be scattered just like cremated remains, and the liquid recycled back into the ecosystem.
What are the Benefits?
Unlike cremation, resomation sterilizes rather than destroying bone implants, leaving them potentially recyclable, and it doesn’t vaporize the toxic mercury found in dental fillings. While some proponents of resomation argue it is better for the environment because the process uses less energy and produces less carbon dioxide than cremation, there is still a significant energy draw to heat and pressurize the water in the resomation chamber.
Does Phaneuf Funeral Home Practice Resomation?
While I have been interviewed on WMUR and have been quoted in the Union Leader and Concord Monitor that I do support the right of the individual to choose resomation, it is not legal in the State of New Hampshire, so Phaneuf is currently unable to offer this service.
Where is Resomation Legal?
Currently, resomation is legal in Minnesota and in Florida and is currently being used on cadavers for funeral practices and for research purposes. In New Hampshire, the process was legalized in 2006, but this decision was reversed in 2007 because it was introduced into legislation that was created to regulate cremation, and the actual resomation process bears very little resemblance to cremation. Similar legislation is currently proposed in a bill headed for an Assembly vote in California that seeks to broaden the definition of cremation to include the use of either fire or water.
Last week, the New Hampshire Legislature refused to pass a bill that would have overturned a ban on alkaline hydrolysis, otherwise knows as resomation. Last year, I blogged on this very topic and do not want to reiterite what I said in this current writing. The Associated Press covered the story which you can read in it’s entirety at http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090304-NEWS-90304045.
The vote was close and many think the decision not to allows this new process was more emotional than factual. However, the fact is that New Hampshire would have been the first in the nation to allow resomation to be used commercially by the funeral industry. I love that our state is first in the nation for a number of things (first in the nation primary, first in the nation to have a state lottery) but to be the first resomation state without much more testing, analysis and discussion would not be beneficial. And given the fact that our state has had difficulty regulating the funeral and cremation industry due to lack of funding and archiac laws, the timing is just not right.
Perhaps some day resomation will be as popular as cremation
I was recently interviewed on a local TV station about a plastic bag full of cremated remains that were found abandoned on a street corner in Rochester, NH. While this story seems strange, you would be surprised to learn how many phone calls we receive about people finding cremated remains in various places. Recently we received a call from a couple who found an urn in a closet in an apartment they moved into in Manchester, NH. While abandoning cremated remains is very sorrowful, the good news is that it generally is quite easy to find out the identity of the remains if the crematory provided proper documentation. And, in most cases, the cremated remains are able to be reunited with their family – many of which are unaware that the remains were even left behind or lost. Click on the link at http://www.wmur.com/news/18900205/detail.html to learn more about this case and my interview.
Most people don’t realize that New Hampshire has one of the highest cremation rates in the country. With families choosing cremation well over 50% of the time, cremation is now the preferred choice for most Granite State families. Statewide, the rate is projected to exceed 65% within the next ten years. So why do so many New Hampshire residents choose cremation when our neighbors to the south in Massachusetts have a rate close to half of that? First, the Catholic Church in our State was one of the first diocese in the country to allow cremated remains to be brought into church. Second, in some states (such as Maine and Massachusetts) funeral homes cannot own crematories and as such, the funeral industry has been slower to embrace and promote cremation. While in our state, over 10% of funeral homes operate crematories. Also the low cost, simplicity and convenience of cremation appeals to a wide variety of people. And many ethnic and religious groups that have made New Hampshire their home have culturally accepted cremation in their native countries for generations. If you are considering cremation, I’d be interested to know why. If cremation is not something that you find acceptable, let us know that as well.
The market for preneed funeral funding is big business. Not only does it involve funeral homes but also insurance and trust companies and major investment firms. The funeral industry is certainly not immune to the economic crisis. Several insurance companies that invest funeral homes’ prepaid funeral funds have become insolvent, including one firm here in NH, ACA Assurance. And returns on funds placed in a preneed trust are earning little returns.
Funeral home owners are struggling to ensure that that they can earn a sufficient return on consumer’s funds to lock-in their prices (one of the major reasons people choose to prefund their funeral). But prepaid funerals are important to funeral homes. First and foremost, they provide the company a level of comfort that they will have business in the future. Firms that do not offer prepaid funerals or do not market this service aggressively risk the chance of other more savvy firms taking away future business. In addition preneed funds, if invested wisely, would provide a rate of return that would allow the funeral home to perform a funeral for a profit, even if the funeral had been paid for years in advance. But all this has changed in the last several years.
Will funeral homes still offer the opportunity for consumers to prepaid for their services. Yes, I think this will always be available. But many firms around the country and are taking another look at the viability of locking in these funerals indefinitely, assuming all the risk and potentially having to perform a service at a loss. My belief is that what funerals homes offer today will be much different than what they offer five years from now.
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