Chatham-Kent Funeral Home Introduces First-Ever Alternative to Ashes

CHATHAM-KENT Funeral Home Introduces First-Ever Alternative to Ashes

Locals Among First with Access to Solid Alternative to Ashes Recognized as a World-Changing Idea

Chatham-Kent – July 15, 2020 – McKinlay Funeral Homes Ltd. has been offering a groundbreaking alternative to cremated remains. McKinlay’s was the first in the area to offer a beautiful, touchable form of “solidified remains” recently recognized by Fast Company Magazine with a World Changing Ideas Award.

Families choosing cremation can now receive stone-like solidified remains that can be touched, held, shared, scattered or memorialized. 

“Solidified remains allow your loved one to be present in - if not the focal point of - a room. These beautiful stones can be picked up and held, during a trying moment or simply sit within a table arrangement in your office or the family room. They allow for your loved one to be quietly present as you go about your day,” says Nathan McKinlay, President of McKinlay Funeral Homes Ltd. “In ash form, cremated remains tend to be hidden from view, often ending up in a closet. Solidified remains are a work of art – each as unique as the individual life they represent.”

Solidified remains was recognized in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards, announced on April 28th, 2020, which honor the businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to solving global challenges like, social injustice, mental health inequality, or climate change.

Parting Stone, the company that developed solidified remains, worked with material scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory to develop a proprietary, patent-pending solidification process that returns the full amount of cremation remains to loved ones in a form that resembles a collection of polished stones. A 100-pound person results in about 35 individual “stones” ranging from thumbnail-size up to palm-size.

Following the death of his grandfather, Parting Stone founder Justin Crowe, realized that living with conventional cremated remains could feel uncomfortable.

"We believe that cremation should be more than just a convenient form of disposition. It is a profound opportunity to live with the remains of our loved ones, but conventional cremated remains can make that experience messy and unpleasant. We hope that solidified remains will allow people to form meaningful connections with their departed long after they are gone."

Solidified remains are now available as an option at 300 funeral homes within Canada and the United States.

About McKinlay Funeral Homes Ltd.

McKinlay Funeral Homes offer funeral services, cremation options, celebrations of life, estate care and end of life planning. They are industry innovators, having been one of the first funeral homes in Canada to get a permanent liquor license in their reception centre. 

About Parting Stone

Parting Stone developed the technology to offer the full amount of cremation remains as a collection of "stones" called solidified remains. Solidified remains are a clean, comfortable, meaningful alternative to conventional ashes. Learn more at www.partingstone.com.