Families heal through reefs made of cremated remains

MIAMI – What if the end of your life could mean the beginning of new life in a place that you loved?

A small group of family and friends launched from Haulover Marina Monday to celebrate the lives of their loved ones who have recently passed on, and with the help of Eternal Reefs have been able to commemorate them in a very unique way.

Don Brawley is the founder of Eternal Reefs, a company that allows families to create artificial reefs using a mixture of the deceased one's cremated remains.

Families go through a three-day process that begins with creating the memorial and ends with its release into the ocean.

"This business started as what I thought was the ‘business of memorial reefs,' but I soon found out I was in the business of closure that used memorial reefs," Brawley said.

The memorials are an important part of the grieving process for the families, but they also play a key role in reef restoration projects in South Florida.

In a vast desert of nutrients, these memorials become an oasis that immediately begin to attract fish.

The new memorials will take their place near ones that have been there for three years and will soon become part of the ocean's landscape.

A memorial reef ranges in price from $2,500-$6,995.

Click here for more information on Eternal Reefs.