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San Francisco Widow Keeps Late Husband Close With Biodegradable Urn

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Nearly half of all people who die in the U.S. are now cremated, with many of those ashes being scattered or placed in urns.

But more and more people are now using their loved ones' ashes to help create living memorials with biodegradable urns.

Constance Flannery and her husband Owen were so smitten with each other, he proposed on their first date.

"He said, 'This is really crazy - but will you marry me?'" remembered Constance. "And I said, 'This is really crazy, but yes.'"

Bios Urn couple
Bios Urn couple Constance and Owen Flannery (CBS)

45 years later, they're still together, though their relationship has evolved. Owen, who died in 2014, was cremated.

His widow used his ashes to grow a flowering bush in her San Francisco backyard.

She did it with a Bios Urn, one of a growing number of brands of biodegradable urns that allows your loved ones to live on as a tree or a bush in the afterlife.

"It looks like a giant coffee cup made out of cardboard," said Constance.

With ashes in the bottom, planting material and a seed on top, you can choose become one of a variety of trees including maple, pine, ginkgo, beech and ash.

Bios Urn is one of a growing number of products intended to help turn loved ones -- including pets -- into living memorials.

Such memorials cost much less than traditional burials and keep loved ones closer. The containers typically range from $100 to $200.

"I thought, 'How could I go wrong?'" Said Constance.

She chose not to use her husband's ashes to grow a tree since she already had plenty of those. Instead, she picked a princess plant.

"He would think it's very funny!" laughed Constance. "He would love it."

He would also likely love that she's still taking care of him and showering him with love.

"It's like going to church," said Constance. "It's a sacred spot."

And for people who don't have a green thumb, Bios Urn is developing a product called an "Incube," that monitors the plant's health and waters it automatically.

One question that arose regarding the use of a biodegradable urn was the legality. While California law regulates scattering and burying ashes on commercial property, it doesn't say anything about private property.

A spokeswoman for the state's Department of Consumer Affairs said planting ashes in your backyard is kind of a grey area, but CBS San Francisco couldn't find any law that prohibits the use of living urns.

Interested parties can learn more about biodegradable urns at the below websites.

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