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A32 FEATURE
Tuesday 7 January 2020
A coral reef cemetery is home to life in the afterlife

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — oranges and enjoyed a
A year after Will and Daniel day at sea, laughing, hug-
Payne lost their mom, and ging and crying at times.
nearly two decades since The men's aunt and uncle
their father's death, it was also brought red roses that
time to follow their wishes each member of the family
for the afterlife. tossed overboard.
As they board a boat with Daniel, 41, of Princeton,
three generations of fam- Texas, said he plans to get
ily, the brothers slip into scuba-certified so he can
flippers and de-fog their see it up close, and return
masks. Will, who became every year.
a certified scuba diver just "I really didn't get it when
days earlier, checks his oxy- (my mom) was telling me
gen tank and jumps into about it and the more and
the azure waters to secure more I think about it, it's re-
a concrete marker mixed ally a nice, peaceful spot
with their ashes at a memo- for your last resting place,"
rial reef about three miles he said.
out to sea. Hutslar and his partners
This unusual resting place were solely focused on
is exactly what the Paynes supporting marine life at
say their parents wanted. first, figuring the cemetery
Buel Payne, a former Coast In this July 19, 2019 photo, Will Payne and three generations of his family throw flowers into sea would help pay for the reef.
Guard member, and Linda after memorial plaque for Payne's parents, Buel and Linda Payne, was installed at Neptune Me- But he's helped hundreds
Payne, who grew up on morial Reef near Miami Beach, Fla. of families say goodbye to
the water and loved boat- Associated Press their loved ones over the
ing, will spend their afterlife years, giving him a calling
in a memorial modeled af- opened this summer and "We're seeing animals here Abundant schools of small, he's come to cherish.
ter the lost city of Atlantis, will make room for an addi- that we haven't seen be- colorful fish darted in and "This has actually become
among impressive lion stat- tional 4,000 memorials over fore. Ones that have been out of the sculptures. my favorite part — being
ues and ornate gates and 16 acres, about 40 feet missing for a long time," They had picked out a with the families," said Hut-
pillars that encrusted with deep. Placements start says Jim Hutslar, the reef's small bronze headstone slar.
sea life. around $1,500 and can go operations director and reading "Together at Last" Memorials for children es-
It took nearly four years up to $8,000, with the prici- one of the founders. "We to mark the ashes, add- pecially stick in his mind.
for multiple government est placements for special- actually found a long spine ing their thumbprints on a There's something healing
agencies to sign off on this ized shapes like sea turtles sea urchin that was consid- decorative concrete sea about the ocean. He says
underwater mausoleum, and stingrays or for promi- ered extinct in the Carib- shell. The divers picked a you can see it when fami-
which is designed to en- nent spots throughout the bean Sea." spot amid the underwater lies return to the surface.
courage a healthy eco- city like the lions. Sara Thanner, an environ- city's striking columns and "You can watch something
system. Roughly a decade With reefs struggling world- mental supervisor for the statues. wash away," he said.
later, the Neptune Memo- wide against coral bleach- Department of Regulatory "It's just amazing. It's so It happened again, Hutslar
rial Reef is home to the ing and other threats, the and Economic Resources, peaceful," Will, 48, of said, as Will Payne paid his
cremated remains of 1,500 memorial's builders are says an April survey showed Sachse, Texas, said af- final respects.
people, and any snorkeler providing coral a head the reef supports more than ter surfacing. "If there is a "I hope you're happy where
or scuba diver can visit. start. The concrete struc- 65 different fish, shrimp and heaven, that would be it you're at. I love you," Payne
The Paynes are the first to tures offer a high pH level, lobster and 75 other spe- for them." whispered through his
be memorialized in the enabling sea creatures to cies including sponges, soft Back on the boat, the fam- mouthpiece. "Keep an eye
reef's expansion, which flourish. corals, and hard corals. ily snacked on cookies and on us."q
For people making end-of-
life plans, the reef means
being part of something
living. Hutslar is hoping that
decades from now, the me-
morial will have grown into
a massive coral reef where
individual markers will no
longer be distinguishable,
and "family members will
just know their loved ones
are part of it."
"We're creating life after
life," he said.
While Hutslar, Will and an-
other diver descended to
the ocean floor, Daniel and
In this July 19, 2019 photo, Jim Hutslar, operations director for his wife and three children
Neptune Memorial Reef, and Ray Lowenstein prepare to install snorkeled on the surface,
a memorial plaque for Buel and Linda Payne, affixed to at ce- gazing down through the In this July 19, 2019 photo, a memorial plaque for Buel and Linda
ment baluster mixed with their ashes, at the Neptune Memorial strong clear currents. They Payne, affixed to a cement baluster mixed with their ashes, is
Reef near Miami Beach, Fla. displayed near Miami Beach, Fla.
Associated Press spotted a parrot fish, barra- Associated Press
cuda and a monster snook.