Deceased loved ones go on in living trees, spaceships and the deep sea
There other creative ways to honor the dead.
— -- Saying goodbye after a loved one's death can be hard for anyone, but a new company is helping them live on.
The Living Urn allows people to mix the ashes of their loves ones with different types of soil and then plant a tree.
Mark Brewer and his two childhood friends were inspired after attending a memorial for a friend's late father.
"One of our other friends lost his father and had a tree planting ceremony for him at an elementary school," Brewer told ABC News. "It's a really cool thing, we thought, that the tree is still standing there today."
The company offers different packages, ranging in price from $129 to $149. A mourning family can choose a tree of choice and thanks to a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, which supplies the seedlings, a family is sent a tree they prefer.
"In New York, we wouldn't offer the same tree as in Denver," Brewer added.
Brewer said that his customers come from a range of backgrounds and locations, but the option mostly appeals to those trying to save money.
"People like the affordability," he said. "Basically, you're not taking up space in a cemetery. You’re able to create a living memorial that a family can have near by."
The Living Urn isn't the only unique option for a non-traditional way to bury a loved one.
Space Burial
For those who want an out of this world way to honor the deceased, there are space burials. Companies, such as Celestis, Elysium Space, and Orbital Memorials, allow customers to launch a portion of their loved one's ashes into space inside a spacecraft. Some companies also allow tracking spacecraft from mobile apps.
Underwater Burial
If going to space wasn't the loved one's thing, try going down under. The Neptune Memorial Reef is a man-made underwater mausoleum, more than three miles east of Key Biscayne, Florida, where ashes can be placed 40 feet below the ocean's surface for eternity.
