Memory Chest Urns
While most wood cremation urns open by removing a bottom panel, memory chest urns feature a hinged lid or removeable top to store mementos such as letters, jewelry, photos, and more in an easily accessible keepsake compartment. These memory chests come in two styles:
- Standard memory chests, which open from the top to reveal the entire interior
- Memory chest & urn combos, which have a smaller keepsake area on top along with a separate compartment for the remains accessed through a bottom opening panel
Memory chests, urns, and combos
One of the most difficult aspects of shopping around for a cremation urn is deciphering the industry lingo. We have an entire page devoted to simply explaining cremation urn terminology, but if you know you're looking for something with a hinged lid top here are a few quick pointers.
Memory chest
"Memory chest" means that the box opens from the top, usually with a hinged lid but we do have a few items with lift-off lids. A memory chest can be large enough to hold an adult's remains, or occasionally even large enough to hold the temporary plastic urn you received from the funeral home, but it could also be quite small and intended for only a small amount of ashes or just keepsakes. The distinctive characteristic of a memory chest is that it opens from the top, as opposed to the bottom-opening panel of most cremation urns.
Note: All the items in this category ("Memory Chest Urns") are large enough to hold adult remains.
Urn
Several of the items in this category do not include "Memory Chest" or "Chest" in the title, but are simple described as being an "urn". This means that the product as listed does not have a hinged lid top; however, it will have the option to be made as a memory chest. Be sure to check product page and description for details.
Combo
A few of our memory chests are called "combo" or "combination". This means that the box is a combination of cremation urn and memory chest - the lower area has room for the remains, and opens from the bottom with a panel which attaches with screws. The top is a separate compartment with a shallow area for storing keepsakes, and opens with a hinged (or lift-off) lid. This is a great option to ensure that the remains are securely stored while enabling you to have access to keepsakes and mementos like a regular memory chest.