10,000 Families, 10,000 Stories: Parting Stone Celebrates a Milestone of Love and Remembrance
Just over four years ago, in September 2019, Connecting Directors shared our first feature on Santa Fe startup Parting Stone, introducing our readers to the innovative concept of solidified remains. Parting Stone was a true labor of love for founder Justin Crowe, who was inspired by the loss of his grandfather to find a way for families who chose cremation to nurture a continuing bond with their loved one.
“People who live with cremated remains desperately want to feel a connection with them,” Crowe told us then, “but they can’t. In their hearts people want to cherish the remains of their loved ones and pets but they feel frustrated because they don’t know what to do with them.”
In their first year, Parting Stone welcomed investments by angel investors, partnered with hundreds of funeral homes, and transformed more than 1,200 human and animal cremated remains into smooth, clean, and solid stones. By 2023, the company had attracted even more investment partners, moved into a spacious new headquarters, expanded into Australia, and won an appearance on Shark Tank, famously securing support from Lori Greinier and Kevin O’Leary.
Today, Parting Stone is celebrating another milestone in the company’s journey: serving 10,000 families.
“At Parting Stone, we have the profound privilege of helping families find meaningful ways to remember their loved ones,” Crowe shared. “As we commemorate serving 10,000 families, we reflect on the stories of love, loss, and enduring connection that have been shared with us. Each family’s journey is unique, yet all are bound by the universal desire to keep their loved ones close.”
The ability to hold and cherish the solidified remains of a loved one has allowed these families to take their loved ones’ stones along on travels, to place them in meaningful locations abroad or keep them close to home, and share them with extended family and friends. Over the years, many of these families have shared their stories with Parting Stone, and we’re happy that we can share a few of them with you.
“The stories that follow are just a handful of the many that make up our 10,000 families,” Crowe says. “They highlight the deep impact that Parting Stone has had on people’s lives—offering comfort, connection, and a new way to honor the ones we love.”
Kari, who chose Parting Stone for her husband, Jeff
“I have sent my husband’s stones out around the world with friends and family. He is currently in Egypt, Machu Picchu, Italy, France, Spain, Michigan, Hawaii, California, Croatia, where he will now remain forever. He was a traveler and loved adventure and we could think of no better way to honor him than to send him to incredible places. Jeff was born in Michigan and moved to Maui after attending college at Central Michigan to pursue a career working with children with emotional and learning difficulties. We met when I was 23 and he was 24 while I was on vacation with my family in Maui. Our love story lasted 26 years and includes having a daughter and a son now aged 25 and 23.
When Jeff wasn’t pouring his time into education, he was writing novels and planning our families next great adventures. During our life together we took our children to New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, Palau, St. Thomas, Hawaii and had many road trips. He and I had plans to go to Europe and Croatia when he passed away suddenly in the early morning on 11/11/2021. Anyone will tell you that the numbers 11/11 are magical and Jeff certainly was full of magic.
When we lost Jeff we were approached by a neighbor who had been considering Parting Stone for his brother who had recently passed. It was ironic because Jeff would bring special rocks home for our yard whenever we went on vacation. He collected them as reminders of our travels. Parting Stone seemed like a perfect way to honor him and his adventurous spirit.
I received the rocks after a couple months’ wait. The communication and process was seamless and we were appreciative as we did not want him misplaced. When he arrived I ended up running into a friend that very day and he was leaving for Machu Picchu. The ironic thing was Jeff had been talking about going there our entire life together. It was at the top of his bucket list and he planned to hike it with our daughter someday. My friend was the first person to take Jeff anywhere and it was to one of the most incredible places in the world. From there he was sent to his best friend and family in Michigan. My daughter took him to France as did my little sister. My neighbor took him to Egypt and left him near the pyramids. My friend took him and left him in a waterfall in Croatia. He is in multiple locations in Italy and the final place he has been placed most recently is on The Camino De Santiago Trail in Spain. I took him to Maui and left him in the waters of the beach where we met and he’s also in the ocean where we call home. I have many stones left and hopefully many more travels ahead including New Orleans which was our last trip together in 2021. He will be left somewhere special when I go in February.
Knowing he rests under the stars in all of these places or in the beautiful waters of the ocean he loved makes me feel as though I have honored him to his core.”
Eden, Robin, and Tamara, who chose Parting Stone for their parents, Cele and Gene
“This is a love story that goes back 70 years, but it took a tragic turn 24 years into this beautiful, loving relationship between a boy and a girl. You see, this handsome, kind, 6ft 4”, wonderful husband and father lost his precious life to cancer at just 49. He had three sweet daughters whom he adored very deeply, who would miss him their entire lives. Most of all he had a loving, devoted wife, one who stood by him through thick and thin, sickness and health, who would love him until she lost her cherished life at 92. This devoted wife and mom always talked about her Prince Charming and how much she missed him. Her love and commitment to him never wavered for all those years without him even when Alzheimer’s took much of her memory away. She always talked about being cremated just like her beloved husband so their ashes could be mixed together. We three daughters of these wonderful and special parents never imagined that mixing the ashes of both of them could be done in such a beautiful and meaningful way as with Parting Stone.
So, after 45 years of our Mom and Dad being separated, we were able to bring them back together in this special way. Thank you to Parting Stone for giving us something solid to touch and hold on to as we remember both our Mom and Dad. Because of this amazing process we have been able to bring our parents to all the places we wish we could have gone and seen as a family. Hawaii, Alaska, Maine, Rhode Island, the beach, the rivers, the cliffs, we are so grateful that even though we no longer have our Mom and Dad with us, we as their three daughters can still create beautiful memories because of Parting Stone.”
Pam, who chose Parting Stone for her husband, John
“My husband John was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer on 4/20/20 and passed on 7/26/20. His work experience was diverse, though his degree was in geology. In the few months after his diagnosis, he expressed to me that he wanted to be cremated, and for his ashes to be incorporated into a work of art by our niece and her husband, who are artists. They were honored to be chosen, but did not work in mediums that would easily incorporate ashes. As an alternate option I was shown the Parting Stone website, and immediately felt that this was the PERFECT way to honor my favorite geologist. What could be better than to turn him into beautiful stones!?!?! Our niece’s husband offered to create a shadow box to house the beautiful stones.
John was Canadian, and he loved the trillium plant that grows wild in Ontario in the spring. This plant’s white flower has three petals, and he often said that it resembled our little family of 3. The shadow box is built partly of Canadian maple, and beautifully displays John’s stones in the ‘petal’ portion, and stones from his personal collection are represented in the ‘leaves.’
Because John died during COVID, we were not able to hold a memorial for him at the time, so a year after his death in July 2021 we held a gathering to remember his life. John had gone to our daughter’s classroom a few times and talked about geology, and he would always have a dish of polished stones for each student to choose for their own. I offered the same to those who came to honor him. We held the gathering at the pavilion of our subdivision, located on a small lake. The tables featured things from his life, martial arts uniforms, hard hat, computer wirings, and lastly, the beautiful trilium holding John’s stones.”
Cindy, who chose Parting Stone for her husband, Steve
“Steve and I had made arrangements with the Neptune Society for cremation, but after his passing in 2020, I came across Parting Stone and felt that solidifying his remains would offer a more meaningful way to keep him close. Four months after his death, I placed an order.
Steve was the love of my life for 40 years—kind, thoughtful, and a man who could light up any room with his warmth and humor. He loved spending time outdoors, whether it was walking our dog or enjoying time by the water, and he had a sweet tooth, especially for chocolate cake, which became a special tradition for us over the years.
Losing Steve at just 65 made me question what the future would look like without him. The grief was overwhelming, and I often felt lost. But when his stones arrived, I found something I didn’t expect—hope. Holding them gave me a tangible connection to him, something that brought comfort during such an uncertain time. It felt like a way to keep a part of Steve with me, even as I tried to navigate life without him.
The stones became a powerful part of how I remember and share Steve’s presence. I shared stones with family and friends, and to this day, I carry one with me wherever I go. I also have stacks of stones throughout my home, which brings me a sense of peace, as if Steve is always here with me.
On the first anniversary of Steve’s death, we gathered with friends to mark the occasion. We placed one of the stones in a motorized boat and let it sail across a pond where we lived. Everyone watched as the stone took its journey in the boat before finally falling into the water, a meaningful and beautiful tribute to Steve’s memory. Afterward, we returned home and shared Steve’s favorite chocolate cake, a simple but heartfelt way to honor him and reflect on the man we all loved. The solidified remains offer something unique—unlike a grave or a memorial site, I don’t need to go somewhere specific to feel connected to him. The stones are here, woven into my everyday life, giving me the comfort of his presence without the need for a formal visit to talk to him.
Beyond my own experience, those I’ve shared the stones with have found solace in them as well. They’ve told me how having a piece of Steve has helped them in their grief, and some have even shared pictures and personal stories of their experiences with the stones.
This has been especially important for our only child, Erica, who was very close to her father. Without any siblings to share this loss, the stones have provided Erica with a way to hold onto that connection and cope with the weight of grief. Having something physical and tangible to remember her father has been deeply comforting for her.
This experience has profoundly shaped how I navigate my grief, giving me a way to feel close to Steve always”
Kaitlyn, who chose Parting Stone for her husband, Matt
“Matt actually wanted his cremains to be shot off in a firework. I remember the day he told me that when asked, without missing a beat. I think he thought they would all be in a firework but research later told me it was just a tiny bit. I was able to make that part happen for him, but then I wasn’t sure what to do with the rest of the cremains. Then I found Parting Stone and it all clicked into place for me. Matt loved rocks, and would find and collect them wherever we went as a souvenir. He was also a potter, so once I found out the process and how the stones were fired in a kiln it all just felt so right and so natural for him. He is with his family and some friends. And I now take him with me whenever I travel. He is in the creek at his family cabin, the woods from our first date, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Greece, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and even New Zealand in Hobbiton now. Some of his favorite places and others that he never got to go, but I can carry him with me. I’m forever thankful for the work that Parting Stone does.”
