Losing someone you love can shoot straight through your heart into the deepest parts of your soul leaving a lasting mark. It is important to create an experience to honour that life in a way that will help to heal those marks that have been left behind. In times of bereavement , you can often feel at a loss when deciding the best way to memorialize your loved one. Oftentimes, when you are dealing with the ashes of the individual that has gone on before, you should take time to figure out how to best handle the scattering ashes on water. For the family of John Mortimer Butson, this holds true. Recently his ashes were scattered from the HMAS Darwin off the coast of Tanzania.
Scattering Ashes:
Butson served in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. He received the Pacific Star, the Active Service Medal, the WWII Medal, and the Star Medal during his service in the Navy. This well decorated serviceman died in 2006. His son and brothers wanted to honour him in a special way for his service to the country, but did not have any ideas of how to do that. Butson’s granddaughter Stacey was able to lay his ashes to rest off the coast of Tanzania by way of scattering ashes from the flight deck of the HMAS Darwin on 20 April.
The Ceremony:
At this ceremony, Stacey was able to scatter her grandfather’s ashes from a Naval ship. What a great way to honour his life and his service to the country in which he loved so passionately. The ceremony was attended by Stacey, a chaplain, and many of the officers and sailors of the Darwin. She feels that this was the best way to honour her grandfather and her family by scattering ashes out to sea.
Closure:
One of the ways you will feel closure when you have experienced the loss of a loved one is by preparing a way in which to memorialize that life. You can do this by scattering ashes, preparing a ceremony, or creating a memorial of a different kind. However you chose to remember your lost loved one, you will find the benefits to be astounding. It is important to seek to honour those you love as a way to bring peace into your heart and mind at their absence in body. When you do this, they may be gone from you here on earth, but they will be forever in your memory.