By Andrew Hoffman
Hello all and welcome to my series about personalizing your funeral service. In previous articles, I was talking to you about all the different and unique caskets and vaults with so many ways to remember the life and interests of your loved one.
Urns can be personalized as well. The standard practice is to place the names and dates of the individual on the urn. But you can go further as to what type of font style you would like the writing to be. You can backfill the engraving with gold to make the engraving stand out more. You can go further still and place images on the urn. Maybe the individual was an avid duck hunter and they would like the scene of a hunter in the marsh aiming at some ducks. It can be done! Perhaps the individual liked angels and it would look nice to have an angel laser engraved on the top of the urn. You can even have the deceased’s image engraved on the urn. All that is needed is a photo of the loved one and then that image is uploaded to the engraver and it is placed on the urn. Basically, there is nothing that can’t be engraved on the urn so long as it is not immoral or illegal.
What I have covered so far in regard to urns has been the standard in the industry. Now I would like to move a bit higher and more unique when it comes to urns. There are companies out there that take personalization to a whole new level. For example, do you like pizza? Is that your favorite food in the whole world? Well, if it is then would you consider an urn that looks like an actual pizza box as your final resting place? Yes, this urn actually exists. Perhaps you are a huge board gamer, and you just love playing Dungeons & Dragons. There is an urn that is a 20-sided die, I hope you role a natural 20. Maybe you like to gamble, there is an urn company the makes urns specific the persons hobbies, vocation and interest’s. Perfect Memorial’s makes an urn, I am not making this up, that is topped with a slot machine, and poker chips and a card hand with a royal straight flush. It is just perfect for that person who loved to try his/her luck at the local casino. There is a motorcycle urn which literally has a motorcycle on it for those who are motorcycle enthusiasts or someone who loves to play the drums, a drum set could be on the top of the urn.
Maybe you are a huge movie buff, or you just love popcorn, believe it or not there is an urn made in the likeness of a bag of popcorn. Perhaps you are a lover of donuts, well guess what? That’s right, an urn in the shape and likeness of a donut. For the sports enthusiast there are urns that look like tennis balls, basketballs or footballs. There are tons of Star Wars fanboys and fangirls out there so yes why not show your devotion by putting your ashes in your very own Darth Vader or Death Star urn. I guess what I am trying to say if you are willing to look, put in the effort, and spend the money, you can get an urn to fit anyone’s lifestyle and personality.
We’ll go into more unique ways to personize loved ones in my next article. Bye for now.
Andrew B. Hoffman is a funeral director at Jeffries and Keates and Keates-Plum Funeral Homes. He is a twenty-two year veteran of the funeral industry.
