Receiving Your Loved One’s Ashes after Cremation

If you’ve dealt with the cremation arrangements and services for a loved one who died, it can be a relief to have all the details behind you. Until you get the call from the funeral home that the ashes are ready to be picked up. It can bring all the grief back up. Let’s talk about receiving your loved one’s ashes after cremation in Ottawa, so you can be prepared to deal with the physical details and the emotional ones.

How will the ashes look and feel?

You will receive the ashes in a sealable container from the funeral home.  If you didn’t purchase an urn, you will probably receive a cardboard box with the ashes sealed in a plastic bag. This container should not have anything in it except the ashes. Cremated ashes aren’t like campfire ashes. They’re more like sand in texture, but they’ll appear to be pasty white, gray to even dark gray in color. They shouldn’t have any odor, but some people do report a metallic smell or scent of incense. The ashes will weigh around 3 kilograms.

How can you deal with the emotional burden of receiving the cremated ashes?

The call from the funeral home can be jarring to your emotions. It’s a symbol of reality that your loved one is gone forever. Expect to feel the loss very deeply. It can help to call someone to get support. Some people ask a friend or family member to pick up the ashes. There’s no proper procedure that you need to follow, but you do need to follow through and pick them up. Think of this task as part of the grieving process to find closure.

What else can you do with ashes?  

Once you have the ashes at your home, you can keep them in the urn or the closet until you’re ready to do something else. Years ago, people kept the ashes in the urn on the mantel. Today, you have many other options, from scattering the ashes on land or at sea, placing the ashes in a cemetery plot, or making the ashes into artwork or jewelry.
 
For more information about planning a cremation services in Ottawa, contact First Memorial.