Planning for death

I recently planned mine and my husband’s funerals (bought and paid for.) I started with Cooperative Memorial Society and then contacted Calgary Cemeteries for a columbarium for cremated remains. I have a need to leave a mark!

The plan is to save a lot of trouble. People never seem to know what to do with the ashes, so I have planned it all out so no one has to figure out what to with  my husband and I. You can do a lot with ashes (eg: create glazes for pottery, make jewellery, etc.) but I want mine put in the columbarium so I can leave my mark. You’ll be able to visit me at Union Cemetery. It’s a very non-denominational choice, for those who are interested.

The funny thing about the whole experience:

My friend Ann took me to Queen’s Cemetery to finalize the paperwork and we enjoyed the experience of writing epitaphs. (Picture below) We arrived and did the paperwork, and they have a template for the names and dates and space below for the epitaphs and for inspiration, they provided some example epitaphs and some were certainly humorous! We kept it sane for myself and my husband and here’s what I decided:

The draft epitaph for my husband is:  Life’s journey Enjoyed the sail

For mine:  Artist Inn Residence (NO, that’s NOT a typo!)

Maybe it’s my dark background with my history of being the daughter of a funeral home director but the experience amused me.