An Air of Dignity

Heath and Vaughn rolling out device that makes scattering ashes easier

Heath and Vaughn introduces a new method that makes scattering ashes a beautiful, unforgettable experience.

Indeed, “end of life matters, means each one of us have a “love story” to tell about our loved ones. A gentle mist arising from the cremains gives us the opportunity of a life-time to share our stories in a magnificent manner.

Some people opting for cremation want their remains to be scattered in a place they cherished in life. But for friends and family members who carry out their wishes, scattering doesn’t always go the way they expect.

There can be bone fragments in the remains, and the ashes can fall on or blow back on those attending the ritual. Celestial Cremation avoids this from occurring.

Most folks find scattering remains by hand to be difficult and even uncomfortable.

Chuck Vaughn, owner of Heath and Vaughn Funeral Home, describes the vapor that is released from the oval-shaped opening from the eco-friendly Celestial Cremation device for scattering ashes to be very meaningful for his client families.

“People will say, ‘Dad didn’t want us to do anything, just to scatter him,’” he said. “But if Dad could know what you were going through, he wouldn’t have placed those mandates on you.”

The scattering device was developed by Idaho pilot Scotty Crandlemire after he had a traumatic experience of his own scattering a friend’s cremated remains, he said.

He was expecting to get a container of ashes about the size of a Starbucks coffee cup, and was surprised to learn the average cremated remains weigh about 5 pounds.

At his friend’s scattering ceremony, Crandlemire said he tried to throw the ashes into the air, but “those ashes backfired and got all over me and pitter-pattered all over me and everyone else.”

What he found out, Crandlemire said, is “you can’t just fling 5 pounds out there. They literally make noise hitting the ground.”

His release device uses air pressure to push the ashes upward to scatter them into the sky, Crandlemire said.

“When the ashes are rendered as a gentle mist-like shape , they’re all out there with nature,” he said.

Heath and Vaughn will be the first funeral home in Illinois that will license the device, Crandlemire said.

“That’s why scattering is so popular,” Crandlemire said. “Because you’re returning someone to Mother Nature, its a ‘green eco-friendly’ manner to say your good-byes.