"Ashes to Jewelry" - Brienna Boydstun

(Trend story) Feb. 27, 2008
Amanda Kuzel keeps a necklace, passed down to her by her grandmother, safely stored away in her jewelry box. Hung on the delicate chain is a tiny gold nugget with a small diamond imbedded in its center. What makes this necklace so special is it is made from her deceased grandfather’s wedding ring, as well as the gold fillings from his teeth.
“I think it’s neat,” Kuzel said. “And it gives you something to hold on to from the people you lost.”
People have always looked for unique and creative ways to memorialize themselves or their loved ones when they pass: the pyramids, mausoleums, Graceland.
These days, the funeral business is booming with new ideas to honor loved ones who have died: Ashes to Portraits in Michigan will mix ashes with paint to make portraits of the deceased; Nadine Jarvis combines cremains with suet and birdseed to make birdfeeders; Eternal Reefs in Georgia adds cremains to cement which they mold and place underwater to make artificial coral reefs. Memorial jewelry is one of the more popular trends today. Like most trends, this one comes from the past and is popping up again with a new spin.
Memorial jewelry is jewelry that contains a lock of hair, a teaspoon of cremains, or even a shrunken thumb print or hand print. It can be as simple as a vial or locket, or as unique as a dragon, teddy bear, or a painted-glass pendent mixed with ashes. The jewelry is not always worn, as with Kuzel’s necklace, but is often placed in a display case.
According to Musselman Funeral Home and Cremation Services’ website, memorial jewelry, also called mourning jewelry, was around in pre-literate societies but didn’t hit its peak until the Victorian era. Hair was one of the most widely used materials and was placed in rings or processed to make them into chains for necklaces, bracelets and watches. Before he died, George Washington even ordered five mourning rings to be made with locks of his hair.
As society focused less on death, memorial jewelry’s popularity began to fade until recently. Wayne Benson, a funeral director at Garden City Funeral Home and Crematory in Missoula, suggests this might be because of the growing number of cremations.
The number of cremations in America has grown from 24.8 percent in 1999 to 30.88 percent in 2004, according to a survey by the Cremation Association of North America. The association predicts the number will continue to grow.
A different survey done by the CANA said 79 percent of people cremated in 2005 did not have a funeral service.
“Cremation is a way to keep the body until the whole family can get together to pay their respects,” Benson said.
Once cremated however, more than one family member might want to keep some of the remains. The second survey from the CANA also cites 56.6 percent of people choose to distribute remains with small keepsake urns but jewelry comes in second place at 25.9 percent. At least 1,000 sites sell memorial jewelry, according to a recent Google search.
“People feel they want to memorialize their loved ones in a different and personal way,” Benson said.
Chantz Thilmony, a twenty-one year old University of Montana English major, agrees, “The grieving process is kind of a personal thing and if that helps someone out, why not?”
Not every one is a fan of the growing trend however.
“I think there is something to be said for keeping someone near and dear next to your heart,” said 20-year-old Andrew Jones who is majoring in women’s and gender studies at UM. “But I personally think you can keep someone closer in your heart.”
Thirty-four-year-old Bonnie Kelley agrees, “I think the memory of somebody isn’t in material items, even biological ones.”
Not all religions are thrilled with the idea either. Some branches of Christianity shy away from cremation in general, and a few Catholic dioceses condemn the practice of memorial jewelry, or any practice which separates the ashes, because they believe the ashes should be kept together.
What other people think does not matter to Kuzel though, “It’s their own opinion,” she said. “It (the necklace) is something my family values.”
Kuzel keeps the necklace in her jewelry box where she can see it every time she opens it because she is afraid she might lose it.
“I was pretty honored (to receive the necklace) since my grandmother does have other grandkids and it made me feel a special connection to my grandfather,” Kuzel said. “It’s something I’d want to pass on to my kids.”