My name is Stephen Cooke and I’m trying to raise enough money to get my beautiful wife of 20 years her final wishes of being cremated so her ashes can be spread across the USA and part of her returned home to Australia to be with her loving family.

I never looked into the cost of this before she passed because, for one, I thought it was inexpensive because there is no real funeral service requested by her, just the cremation. The second reason was, of course, denial; even though she had terminal cancer, I did not want to think of her being gone forever.

The cost of basic cremation ranges from $3,000 to $20,000! I found a place way down south Jersey who will do it for $3,300 if I drive down to pick her up. This is okay for me because the first place we entered NJ was Cape May on the ferry from Maryland, so I can place a bit of her on Cape May beach.