Funeral Urns

[Chuck Wintle]

How much should urns cost? The reason I am asking is my father seems to be on his last breath and the idea is not to pay a funeral home many hundreds of dollars for an urn. Can any type of container work to hold ashes? Thanks.

[Mel Fulks]

Of course, and you only honor the deceased by putting some thought into your choice. Once someone brought us a branch from a favorite tree to have a plain wood box made,honoring expressed wishes of the departed. Ive noticed that the funeral establishments sometimes offer urns with garish paint a little cheaper than the same type urn with a more dignified look: fortunately ,I know places that sell paint. I have an aversion to plastic bag urn liners,if you do too,make it known.

[Ole Anderson]

We had a memorial service last week for a former pastor and his ashes were in a simple unstained square Oak urn with some decorative laser engraving on one side. Looked like a simple workshop project except for the laser work which should be easily shopped out. I would pick out a small standard plastic screw cap container and build an urn around it. Rockler has what they call urn hinges. At your request, they will provide the ashes in a special plastic bag in a cardboard mailer, and you can take it from there.

[Walter Plummer]

My sympathies are with you. In the last few years we have lost my parents and my youngest brother. If I remember correctly they started at around $70 for a simple veneered MDF box and went up from there. Many choices and layers of quality. MDF, polyester like vanity tops, real stone, glass, mantle clocks, ceramic urns, etc.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Any type of container is fine. While laws may have changed, and different States may vary, back when I worked at a funeral home, there was nothing stopping a person or family from having the ashes placed in their own container - unless the container could not properly hold the ashes. Some crematories will place the ashes in a temporary container so that it can be used for transport purposes and you can place them in your own container after that. A lot of times it's up to the person's wishes. One fellow wanted his ashes in a corny cookie jar. He really liked cookies. As for urn prices, I found the funeral home mark-up to be quite shocking.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

It does not have to be an turned urn. A funeral home will want to sell you something expensive, but at the end of the day they will turn the ashes over to you in a cardboard box. For the ceremony, I have seen a simple cedar box made by family members work very well. It was not particularly fancy, but it meant a lot to the family that they made it rather than just buying something.

[Jim Becker]

It's very true that pretty much any type of container can be used, although most folks will prefer something that can be sealed for obvious reasons. Professor Dr. SWMBO's parents' ashes are resting together in a wall at Arlington National...in a beautiful carved teak...ice bucket (really) that was in the family home for decades. It was the perfect size for the job, truly beautiful, beloved by the family and I was able to seal it permanently with some epoxy glue.

Many woodworkers make urns, both turned and with "flat work". And honestly, making one for a family member can be a very fulfilling and worthwhile project.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Just went to FH on Monday to arrange my sister's cremation. Funeral home furnishes as part of the package a lightly stained poplar box. Today while there writing the check, there was a stained raised panel box made from oak on table for next family to see. Even though she is to be buried in a memorial garden, FH has to furnish box, which does look better than a paper bag sitting in front of church. When my dad died (1997) we received his ashes in a brown paper bag. We scattered his ashes on RR tracks BEFORE service, as he wished. He loved trains. Remember the ashes you get back are only the bones which have been ground into a powder.

[Myk Rian]

Our son and my Wifes' brother were both cremated. We put their remains in these small casket-like plastic burial boxes. Well made, and they had plenty of room to allow people to place items in them. I think they were near $40.

[Kev Williams]

A friend of mine has an old Harley panhead on a table in his living room. Within the cylinders are the remains of 2 of his pugs.

Not the cheapest urn, but definitely unique...

[roger wiegand]

Here's a double box I made for my parents last fall. The inlays on the sides are pieces of wood taken from some buildings and trees that were special for them. We just got the ashes back in plain cardboard boxes (honoring my dad's "cheapskate pride"), and per their wishes mixed them in a single container.

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[Myk Rian]

Do a google search for cremains container and burial urns. There will be hundreds of ideas if you click on images. If you see one you like, click on the picture to take you to the website.

[Stan Calow]

I know some people who used nice ceramic and brass vases (with lids) from Pier One, for not much cost.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Here's a double box I made for my parents last fall. The inlays on the sides are pieces of wood taken from some buildings and trees that were special for them.

Beautiful work Roger.

[Matt Meiser]

My dad was cremated and buried after his funeral. The funeral home had a nice rental casket for the funeral His ashes were in a container provided by the crematorium (not sure of the material) which was placed in a small concrete vault for burial. The vault had some kind of gasket material they put on before the lid--kind of looked like butyl rope like they use for installing windshields. We didn't see any point in a nice urn for burial.

[James Runchey]

A friend of mine, a former cemetery manager, said many people use a 6" piece of PVC with two end caps glued on, will last forever in the ground. Not too elegant, but does the job.

[Rick Moyer]

What internal volume is typically needed for an urn?

[Brian Tymchak]

What internal volume is typically needed for an urn?

I've heard the rule of thumb is 1 lb of body weight yields 1 cubic inch of ash.

[Marty Tippin]

At your request, they will provide the ashes in a special plastic bag in a cardboard mailer, and you can take it from there.

I'd suggest asking the funeral home to make the transfer into the urn - you really don't want the emotional stress of trying to get all of the cremains transferred and worry about spills, etc.

I turned an urn for a high school friend's mom a year or so ago, it came out pretty well in spite of being my first effort at making something like that. He was pleased and said a local funeral home handled the transfer without any hassle.

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And I'm currently in the same position as the OP - not sure how much longer my dad is going to be around, so have intentions of making a fairly simple box for him; we'll be burying his ashes so it's won't be for display, though I'll probably embellish it a bit.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Urns can be bought at a very reasonable price through Costco. They had a good selection and the mortuary put the ashes in for us. You can do it yourself if you want, in Oregon anyway.