Scattering ashes of a cremated loved one is a popular request. But how many of you have actually done that?
Steven Bleicher, artist, professor and color theory expert.
I just took a road trip from Las Vegas to Albuquerque. The origin of the trip was to go see The Wizard of Oz, newly remastered for an interactive experience at Sphere at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. My friend Tall Dave suggested seeing the film there, and said he was thinking of driving. That got me to thinking….
My brother-in-law Steven Bleicher, who died in March, 2025, was an artist, art professor, and color theory expert. He did a series of art works based on the theme of Route 66. In his will, he stated that he wanted to be cremated and have some of his remains scattered in the cemetery where his parents and brother are buried. He also wanted to have his ashes scattered along Route 66. Here was an opportunity to honor Steven’s wishes, and do a mobile memorial service. There hadn’t been any kind of service, outside of a gathering at the college where Steven taught.
Scattering ashes is a request that you need to know about if it’s something you are going to do on behalf of the deceased. I’m glad that I had at least that bit of guidance from his will.
The Scattering Ashes Road Trip
Tall Dave and I flew one way to Las Vegas and rented a car to drive back to Albuquerque. The plan was to travel Route 66 as much as possible, stopping and scattering ashes along the way. He was my camera man. We stopped in the Arizona towns of Kingman, Antares Point, Hackberry, Truxton, Seligman, Sedona, Flagstaff, Winona, Winslow, and Lupton, at the eastern edge of the state at the Arizona-New Mexico Border.
By the time we got across the state, I realized this trip served as my own moving memorial service in Steven’s honor. I wanted to bury some of his remains in the Congregation Albert Cemetery with his parents and brother, my deceased husband Dave. However, it was taking time to get others who wanted to be there to commit to a date. At each stop where I scattered ashes of Steven, I remembered parts of our relationship and honored his memory. You can see the video on YouTube.
In an ironic twist, the one piece of Steven’s Route 66 artwork that I had an image of was from a tee pee motel in Holbrook, Arizona. I didn’t know where it was located, and we didn’t get off I-40 to go into Holbrook when we drove by. Lesson learned: Make those stops and take those pictures! Life is a journey, and there’s no going back.
