People's ashes left uncollected for years

The Canterbury Star


City crematoriums and funeral directors are storing the cremated remains of hundreds of people whose relatives fail to collect them.

The macabre reality of uncollected ashes is part of a national trend, with some firms in the country holding the remains of up to 1000 people.

Many funeral directors are now being forced to put measures in place to ensure they are not holding onto ashes for families for long periods of time.

In Christchurch, crematoriums storing ashes include the Canterbury Crematorium in Linwood, which currently stores 545 sets of ashes, and the Harewood Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, which holds 488.

Most funeral directors in the city could also hold anywhere from 10 to 100 sets of ashes they have collected for families at any one time.

Nationally, between 60% and 70% of people are now cremated rather than buried.

Funeral Directors’ Association vice president Tony Garing, from John Rhind Funeral Directors in Christchurch, said the number of ashes left uncollected was astounding.


He said the onus was on the families to make a decision about what to do with the ashes, and many funeral directors would often collect ashes from the crematoriums on the relatives’ behalf.

However, because of the logistics of storing large numbers of ashes, many funeral directors were now not collecting them unless they had clear instructions what to do with them.

Mr Garing said they currently held well over 100 sets of ashes in their storeroom, some dating to the 1960s.

“If you went to any funeral home you would find ashes,” he said. “It’s a very emotive thing, that’s the problem.

“It is also very hard to contact families. Many (contacted) think it was dealt with years ago.”

Cremation Society of Canterbury manager Barbara Terry said common reasons for people failing to collect “cremains” was that it was too traumatising, the deceased had no relatives or friends left, or people may want the ashes to be held until a surviving spouse passed away so the ashes could be buried together.

Some people also waited until the anniversary of a death or a birthday to collect ashes.

Mrs Terry said a couple had come into the Cremation Society earlier this year looking for information on their genealogy, and were horrified to find a grandmother’s ashes had being waiting for collection for nearly 30 years.

“They were horrified,” she said.

Mrs Terry said the “respectful thing” for any deceased was for a decision to be made on what to do with their remains.

“You don’t arrange a burial then leave the casket beside the grave and walk away,” she said.

But the reality was, the decision to collect ashes was up to the families.

“There are no rules. They (the ashes) are in safekeeping. We do take the guardianship of ashes very seriously.”

She said all ashes were meticulously stored in an urn and given an identification number.

“Every five to 10 years, depending how the volumes are looking, we try again to contact families. If we have no success we inter the ashes into a grid in a set location,” she said.

However, these could be retrieved if someone came to collect them.

From Malta.....Horse-drawn hearses back from the dead

The next time you spot a somewhat eerie carriage, being drawn by black horses, clad in black feathers and a cloak, driven by a man in a black suit and top hat, don't be fooled into thinking it's a scene out of Dracula.

The chances are you will spot one on the roads some time soon. Horse-drawn carriage hearses were last seen on our streets some 40 years ago but an undertaker has dug up his collection and is breathing new life into them, following public demand. Louis Borg's resurrection of the horse-drawn hearses comes in the wake of the liberalisation of the motorised market, which led him to diversify, giving him the edge over double the competitors he had before.

But he does not want to create another monopoly and is willing to extend the service of his restored carriages to other undertakers everywhere if their clients ask for it.

In fact, he does not mind if he fails to make money "as long as I revive the tradition," he said, touring his Sliema garages, piled with carriage paraphernalia including papier-mâché angels and equestrian equipment.

All he wants is to unearth that sense of respect for the dead that comes with the carriages. On their first appearance after four decades last week, they commanded much reverence from the man in the street, Mr Borg pointed out.

"Everyone bowed their heads, made the sign of the cross, looked in awe and moved aside. Normally, when we use the cars, it could be any other vehicle on the road. Nobody gives way," he continued.

Mr Borg has been driving the dead for 30 years and had never experienced such a scenario, which he deems fit for a funeral.

Some of his carriages are up to 120 years old and, unlike other undertakers, who sold them overseas and stripped them when they stopped using them in 1970, the Borg family had the foresight to keep theirs in storage.

Now he is bringing back from the dead his first-class carriage (tal-kewba), which was used by "rich Sliema residents"; the prima and sekonda, which are for lower levels of society respectively, but equally elaborate to the fresh eye; and the white version for babies and single women.

The set comprises the priest's carriage, which would also transport the altar boy dressed as he would have back then and carrying the large cross, sticking out of the window as tradition would have it.

In a €60,000 investment, Mr Borg is restoring them to their original state, using nothing but antique items, even down to the bolts and buttons.

In two weeks, a set of four carriages should be rearing to go and the whole project should be complete in nine months, when the undertaker would be able to carry out three funerals of the sort simultaneously. It cost Mr Borg around €5,000 to restore the prima and €3,500 for the priest's carriage, which comes complete with an old bell to function as a horn in case a driver gets distracted.

"This did not exist in the original but at least it is old too," he said, determined to remain in the past. It still has the original number plate - 260 from 1901.

He is even buying rubber tyres from overseas to put round the wheels to reduce the noise and be able to drive into Mdina and Valletta.

In fact, he plans to drive the carriages everywhere, according to requests. "We can go from any church in the area to the cemetery but would probably drive by car from Mater Dei Hospital to avoid the hills," he said.

His first carriage funeral from Msida to the Naxxar cemetery took 25 minutes - only 10 minutes more than it would have by car - and ran smoothly, he said.

"I am using traffic police each time," he said. "But anyway, everyone just moves out of the way."

Between 1959 and 1970, the public had the option of the motorised and horse hearses but then the latter were buried because it was more comfortable for undertakers to turn the key in the ignition and drive off.

"I have been receiving requests for these carriages for the last 15 years, particularly from the elderly in the villages. Mercedes and Rolls Royce are nothing next to them in their view," Mr Borg said.

Despite the added hassles, the carriage funerals are expected to cost "only a bit more" than the common cars.

Mr Borg already has six horses in his extensive fleet and is buying more from overseas. Now, all he needs is the government to provide him with a hangar in the Marsa area, where he can display all the options for clients to make their death wish.

Modern memorial art

Many people wish to mark the death of a loved one with a beautiful and personal memorial, but don't know how to go about it. A new exhibition, Art and Memory, brings together the first national collection of modern memorial art. Artists were commissioned to create fitting memorials, from a circle of rugged stones, to a triptych in green slate, or a simple engraved pebble. The Memorial Arts Charity helps the public to work directly with artists to create individual memorials.

The collection is at West Dean, Sussex, until November. From spring 2010 the works will be divided between six permanent sites, with four pieces remaining at West Dean. They will be found at University Botanic Gardens, Birmingham; the Memorial Garden, Canterbury Cathedral; Grimsthorpe Castle Memorial Garden, Lincolnshire; Blair Castle, Scotland; and the Monnow Valley Art Centre, Herefordshire

Guitarist Quits Heavy Metal Band To Become A Funeral Director

Quinn Lukas leaves Icarus Witch...



Guitarist Quinn Lukas has announced he's quitting heavy metal band Icarus Witch to become a funeral director.

A statement from the Pennsylvania rockers' says Quinn will leave the band on September 17 following his last ever live show in their native state.


Quinn had already started training in mortuary science before joining Icarus Witch but will now finish his studies.

The statement reads: "When Quinn joined the band in 2006, he put his mortuary science schooling on hold.

“Now Quinn's going back to school to become a funeral director, and Icarus Witch will enter the next chapter in our twisted tale as we prepare to release our fourth CD in time for a full U.S. tour this winter."

Icarus Witch formed in 2004 and despite numerous line-up changes have released two cult albums – 2005's Capture The Magic and 2007's Songs For The Lost.