 “I’m going to have my ashes thrown
into the ocean,” my cousin said. My stomach began to twist, and I said,
“Don’t you want a monument where you will be remembered?”
Something just does not seem right to spread ashes without a permanent location for
memorialization. Cremation has taken off and many of us would rather not spend the $8,000
to $12,000 that the mortician would charge, and instead we desire to spend some of that
hard-earned money on a good preneed monument that memorializes our lives.
When I informed my mother that I wished to be cremated when I die, she responded with,
“Oh, don’t do that?” She would rather that her corpse decompose in a
casket, and vault, and, if that is what she wants, I support her wish.
As for me, I already have my urn for my cremains. That is $200 retail. Then, there is $595
for the lower priced cremation services. That is $795 so far. That leaves a lot of money
for a nice memorial that will last through the ages.
I will spend a couple thousand dollars retail for an attractive cremation bench (with
porcelain photographs) to hold the cremains within an internal chamber of myself, and my
former housekeeper for whom I am the caregiver. She suffers from dementia. We have extra
room inside the chamber beneath the bench, so we will also rest with the cremains of our
family dog who has been our faithful companion for many years.
Let’s see now, that is less than $3,000 with money left over for the commercial grade
flagpole, and I still have money to burn with a nice monument with three bronze plaques. I
love my nieces and nephews, but I’m going to treat myself right and give myself the
kind of memorial that I deserve.
Wanting to be remembered is a normal human emotion and that need is satisfied best by the
memorialist who takes the time to turn a monument into a memorial.
Preneed planning is the right way to prepare for the inevitable. I trust others, but I
trust myself more when it comes to doing things my way. How about you?
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| About Burton Fletcher:
Burton Fletcher, with over 20 years’ business experience, owns USAMonuments.com. He writes frequently on monument building and memorialization. He
is a licensed memorialist in Georgia and Florida and he ships and installs across the
United States and Canada. Burton is the founder and president of the Georgia Monument
Builders Association, www.GAMonumentBuilders.com. He enjoys photography, genealogy,
visiting cemeteries, and studying Southern monuments. Reach Burton at (888) 9Statue, (888)
978.2883, or (229) 245.8858 or e-mail Burton@USAMonuments.com for all your monument
needs. © Burton Fletcher 2005 All Rights Reserved. |
