For now, most of John Gilliam Jr.’s cremated remains are sealed inside a gold-speckled urn on the living room mantel in the home he shared nearly a decade with his wife, Sharonia.
But, come May, Sharonia and their 12-year-old granddaughter Natia will travel to Hawaii, to spread John’s ashes on Maui, where the couple was planning to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.
That was Natia’s idea. It was John’s wish to be cremated.
The Gilliams, funeral directors say, are among an increasing number of families turning to cremation as a more personal and economic option for their loved ones after death.
According to the latest data from the Cremation Association of North America, the number of cremations in the U.S. has nearly doubled in 15 years. In 1999, only about 25 percent of bodies were cremated in America. In 2014, that percentage was up to nearly 47 percent and is expected to reach 50 percent of all deaths by 2019.
And, while cremation is still considered a taboo subject among some African-Americans, those numbers are rising, too, said Ronnie Ingram Jr., cremation manager at Gregory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory.
Of Levett's five facilities, one — Cremation Care of Georgia — is a dedicated cremation center.
“A lot of families are opting for cremation to cut down on cost,” Ingram said. “Ten years ago, you could purchase a burial plot for $1,800 to $2,000. Now, the average funeral can cost up to $7,000, not including the burial, which could tack on another $4,000 to $8,000.”
Levett, he said, tries to provide families with “affordable options for celebrating the life of those loved and lost, while focusing on personalization and meaningfulness.”
Choosing cremation allows families to have traditional services, including viewings, wake services, visitations and public funerals. But, instead of incurring costs at a cemetery, they could save thousands of dollars opting for cremation over earth burial.
In addition, Ingram said that cremation also allows for greater flexibility when planning memorials. People can easily transport their loved one’s remains to make timing more convenient for families, place the remains in a single location, scatter them at a favorite site, or divide and incorporate them into keepsake urns, jewelry and other items.
Gilliam said she likes it that she is able to keep a part of her husband’s remains with her at all times. She keeps a second urn on a bedside table, and both she and her granddaughter, along with her mother-in-law, wear heart charm necklaces containing John’s ashes.
“I feel such a closeness having John’s ashes with me daily,” she said.
Although she was fulfilling her husband’s wishes, Gilliam said cremation just made sense for her.
When she buried her first husband, Gilliam paid $10,000 for a traditional burial. Funeral services for John, she said, cost less than half of that.
“The only difference was, we didn’t have to go to the cemetery afterward,” she said.
For about 10 years after investigators in 2002 discovered heaps of decaying bodies in storage buildings, burial vaults and pits at the Tri-State Crematory in Noble, Ingram said crematories operated under a stigma. People were hesitant to trust anyone with their loved one's remains. However, rules have been put in place since then, he said, to make sure remains are handled properly.
In addition, Ingram said, people are more educated about cremation, and therefore more accepting of the practice.
Since opening Cremation Care in July 2015, Levett, one of only a few African-American funeral directors that owns a crematory, has done 843 cremations, including more than 500 so far this year. He said it’s about 35 percent to 40 percent of their business.
Overall, the industry is thriving, taking in about $16 billion per year, according to the latest data from the National Funeral Directors Association.
Gilliam said John decided he wanted to be cremated a full year before he passed. When Levett opened Cremation Care near their home last summer, the Gilliams decided to visit and liked what they saw.
When he took his last breath, Sharonia Gilliam said there was no question what she had to do.
“I will say, I went all out on the obituary,” she said. “I wanted to show how much he was loved and loved life.”
