COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WTVF) — We all know how hard this pandemic has been on families and loved ones. Millions of people globally have died because of the coronavirus.
While grieving is never easy, one company offers a unique way to remember loved ones during this time.
With more people passing away this past year due to COVID-19, Parting Stone says they've had more people reaching out to them.
It's an alternative to receiving ashes after cremation, the company turns ashes into stone, like solidified remains.
The company said for the first time in modern history, more people are being cremated than buried, with the U.S. cremation rate exceeding 50%.
Debra Mitchell says she lost her husband Darrell last year to liver cancer. Darrell was diagnosed May 12, passing away May 31.
When she went to the funeral home in Columbia, Tennessee she learned about Parting Stone.
"Losing Darrell specifically is a huge loss for me, so having these parting stones, something solid and physical I can have with me all the time when I'm stressed worried or whatever, I have him in my pocket," said Mitchell.
After receiving a box full of Darrell's stones, Mitchell has left some in meaningful places and has also given stones to loved ones.
"I have a girlfriend who is a police officer and he always wanted to go on a ride-along with her so now he is on a ride-along with her in stone form so she has a rock and Darrell was her rock," Mitchell said.
While losing a loved one is never easy, she says this has helped her grieving process.
