Originally Posted by seat17D
Personally, I'd send them to myself via USPS registered mail and avoid having to deal with the possibility of TSA randomness at such a sorrowful time.
We did that for my father in law. Sent him back to Delaware USPS, insured (what's the value of the chemicals in a human body?) and registered. Oh yeah, I got to use the Priority Mail flat-rate box because he fit inside perfectly. Our family friend who had him on the coffee table until we could fly out and take him to the Veterans' cemetary said his mail carrier rang the bell and acted like he was delivering a shipment of diamonds!
In case you've never seen a registered mail shipment, they seal every opening and every edge of the shipping container with paper-based table then stamp every inch of the tape along the seams and corners! It almost looked like a diplomatic pouch shipment but without the straps. Anyway the mail carrier delivered the Box o Dad--as KDT put it--first because he didn't want whatever it was in his truck!
He was sufficiently squicked when he learned what it was...he didn't even realize that USPS is the only carrier that will *knowingly* take human remains like that!
Great story KDT, we were going to bring BOD on the plane as well but Mrs. J decided she didn't want to deal with the hassles.