burial

Burial at Sea

It was Ryan's wish to be cremated and then buried at sea. We found this to be a very dignified and touching way to memorialize ones loved one.

The burial at sea was on Sunday morning , July 10, 2005. The seas became unusually calm just as we approached the predetermined site. After we completed the burial and shared several stories, we happened to notice two large swells suddenly form around the burial site itself and not elsewhere. It was almost as if Ryan was telling us thank you and now to move on. I'm convinced Ryan's spirit is still with us today.

The burial location chosen by the family is exactly three miles due west of the Santa Monica pier. Ryan grew up in the West Los Angeles area in his youth, and spent the better part of his teen years body surfing just south of Santa Monica Pier. If anyone would like to know where to pay a visit to Ryan, just walk to the very end of the Santa Monica Pier and look out to the ocean directly to the west. ( I suggest visiting the pier during the day, could get a little rough in the evenings there)

Below are a few photos of the service

Nick getting ready to prepare lowering Ryan to his final resting place. This was a difficult moment because this seemed much to final.

Notice how calm the ocean was? It suddenly flattened out just as we began to ceremony.

A poem was read:

"From waters all life rises.
Mothers of waters,
Father of rain,
You have taken back your own.
As a stream flows into a river.
as a river flows into the sea, may Ryan's spirit flow to the waters of healing,
to the waters of rebith."

A moment of silence was taken as Ryan was layed to rest.

The offering of flowers and a few other personal items. Maxine tossed in an apple for Ryan. This was a request that Ryan made while still in the hospital but wasn't able to eat it at the time..

Slowly drifting away. We circled Ryan' s burial site 3 times for our final good bye.

The Ito men, left to right, Robert, Alan and Nick

The urn was a beautiful green marble with gold engraving.

We made sure Ryan finally received this apple he had asked for in the hospital but never got.

Last Updated 4-22-2006

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