Dad dying, ashes spread in Alaska by plane?

[DesertFalcon]

As some of you guys know, my father was diagnosed with liver cancer eight weeks ago, and the cancer has already spread throughout his entire body to his lungs, his bladder, and other major organs. Now his liver has failed completely (yesterday afternoon), so we (my family) won't have him with us much longer and we need to iron out some details pretty quickly, unfortunately .


So now that the end of his life is fast approaching, he and my mother having previously decided they both want to be cremated - which is odd for a Southern Baptist minister - he has hinted about the places he might like to be 'spread'. So, I was wondering if it might be possible to have a very small portion of his ashes spread via airplane, or even via boat, in Alaska?

Any ideas?

On behalf of my father, Reverend Joseph A. H. ... thanks for any info/assistance at all!

Minh Thong

Minh,

I don't think you will have any problem blessing the State of Alaska with your dad's ashes. I have dropped ashes out of an aircraft, for people, several times. The hardest part of the process is gracefully releasing the ashes into the high winds outside of the A/C window. Use a strong plastic bag and open the bag with the opening pointed backwards relative to the wind. Try to get the bag behind the window so the ashes won't come back into the cockpit.

After you dad passes, remember, he is not gone. He has only changed dimensions; he will still be with you, on occasion just not in the physical sense. I like to think of death as a graduation. It's another lifetime under his belt and another class successfully completed.

God Bless you, your Father, and your family.

 

[Snakum]

Thanks for the thoughts, all.

And thanks for the offer ASquared, you're most gracious. When the time comes, I'll PM for instructions. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate this.

My brothers and I are all meeting up today to discuss the details with Pop. He's bedridden and can only get around if lifted into a wheelchair, and he's stopped eating. But I'm betting he'll get an obvious kick out of all this, and he'll definitely have a hearty laugh when I tell him he's going to be shipped 'Hazardous Waste'.

I would refer you to someone up here that would respect your father with a skydive and I would even cover the jump slots if that's what it took, but I don't know what significance getting the ashes spread over Northeast Wisconsin or southern Wisconsin would be.

Well ... he does like cheese. Thanks for the idea FN, I'll pass that one along to my brothers. He definitely wants some portion to be put in the ocean near Topsail Island, but I don't know yet who's doing what with their share of Pops (Man that sounds weird, doesn't it? ). Just like in life, there may not be enough of him to go around. I'll call the guys at Carolina Sky Sports, if one of my brothers wants to do that. It'd be a good excuse to take that jump I've been putting off.

Thanks again everyone!

Minh

 

[Dignan]

If you want Glacier Bay, here are a couple of small local outfits with regular service to JNU and Gustavus (at the mouth of the Bay). They are Fjord Flying and Air Excursions. Their websites respectively:

http://www.fjordflyingservice.com/

http://www.ptialaska.net/~airex/

The owners of both companies are good guys and good pilots. Explain your situation and I'm sure they'll get ya set up.
I don't know what part of the bay your father would be partial to, but IMHO the Hopkins Inlet up to Mt. Crillion is the most amazing part. Best of luck with your decision and condolences to you and your family.

D

 

[Snakum]

My Dad passed away Sunday night, after a pretty rough weekend. Basically, he was with us for nine weeks after he was diagnosed, and only in the last three or four days was he really having difficulty. Not a bad deal, everything considered. Last week he was joking (as he was prone to do) about what we were going to do with his ashes. He said that he had heard that cremated human remains contained lots of nitrogen so he figured he'd "be good for spreading on tomatos.", and he also said, when I told him I wanted some of his remains, "Yeah, sure ... you can have some of me. Just spoon out whatever you need." He was jovial to the last, and was quite accepting of what was to come.

It also sort of put things back into perspective. Here I am worrying about getting my CFI and instructing by next Summer, and sweating where the money's going to come from, and my father and best friend is facing death from cancer, only days away ... and he's joking about it. Sorta' re-oriented my priorities, as to what's really important in life.

And thanks ASquared for offering to help with the 'airdrop'. I found out Monday from the funeral home, that cremated human remains are not hazmat afterall, and may be mailed just like anything else. His fishing buddy is going to put some into a place called 'Cowee Creek' near Juneau by boat, and I told my Mom I have the 'air-drop' in hand for Alaska also, thanks to the gracious assistance of someone I don't even know. My Dad has been to the Prince William Sound and like the rest of Alaska, I'm sure he thought it was among the most beautiful places on earth. Thanks again ASquared!

Humbly ...

Minh

 

[FN FAL]

Best wishes to you and your family snakum!

 

[MarineGrunt]

My sincerest condolences. I hope you and your family are doing well...

 

[A Squared]

Snakum,

My deepest condolences for your loss. I can't imagine what you're experiencing nor feeling.

A Squared

 

[skyking1976]

My deepest condolences, my friend. I know the good memories you have of your father will live on.

"...do not forget that death is only the end of the physical body. The body was born from parents and was nourished by food; just as inevitable are sickness and death. But the true Buddha is not a human body: -it is Enlightenment. A human body must die, but the Wisdom of Enlightenment will exist forever in truth and in practice…."

Always the best...
SK

 

[bobbysamd]

Sorry to hear about your father, Snakum.

All the best to you and your family.

 

[Vladimir Lenin]

at least he made you laugh
most make you cry