In February of 2002 my wife Elizabeth passed away unexpectedly. Fortunately we had talked about each other’s wishes for after death, although I had not thought I would be following those wishes so early in our life. As she requested, Elizabeth was cremated and when spring came I brought her ashes to my parents’ property in the Adirondack Mountains of New York to be spread amongst the day lilies that have been growing in a patch behind my parents’ house for as long as I can remember.
Elizabeth was a great lover of flowers and in fact the last words she had spoken to me were “When you get home tonight check out the snow pansies. They are blooming”. After saying my goodbyes and spreading her ashes I spent the weekend visiting with my parents and then drove the four hours to our home in Rochester. Time passed and being somewhat lost in my grief I did not speak to my parents until August. When we did talk they told me that the day lilies that year had never been as thick or as colorful before. I found great comfort then and still find great comfort today in knowing that from Elizabeth’s death new life sprang and thrived.
—Kevin M.