Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (July 02/01) - A teaspoon of Vera Anderson's cremated remains flew to Ellesmere Island with Chris King this week.

On her death bed, the 78-year-old American woman requested her ashes be sprinkled in the many places she'd read about but never visited.

Chris King holds the bag containing the remains of Vera C. Anderson. He plans to deposit the remains on a picturesque hill on southern Ellesmere Island.

King, an Iqaluit environmental technologist, noticed the story in a national newspaper. Intrigued, he tracked down her son, Ross Anderson, through directory assistance. Two weeks later, Ross forwarded a tiny baggie containing his mother's remains from Medford, Ore.

"I've kept a pretty tight grip on it," King said, days before leaving for his month-long cooking and research trip.

On one side the bag reads: "Enclosed are the remains of Vera C. Anderson, our angel Granny and mom. She was loved by many. She always wanted to travel but couldn't.

On the flip side: "Kindly sprinkle her ashes in the woods, an ocean or stream in a faraway place or near your home. Thank you."

King plans to deposit the remains on a picturesque hill on southern Ellesmere Island.

"You can see out to the ocean from there. It's an exquisite spot, a polar desert," King said.

At no point did Ross solicit people to take the baggies. People around the world have gravitated to the story through newspapers and broadcasts.

The Colorado grandmother died earlier this year after a lengthy battle with chronic heart and lung disease.

During his one phone call with Ross, King said the project is bigger than the Anderson family ever imagined. "He's been overwhelmed by the responses. He was more than happy to send (the remains)," King said.

Vera's posthumous travels have already taken her to Lake Titicaca in the Andes, the South and the North poles, Sweden, Thailand and Malta.

Ross started the project by sending 50 tiny baggies to post offices in all U.S. capital cities, asking the postmaster to sprinkle the ashes.

That's when media outlets picked up on the story. In all, Ross has sent 250 baggies to 191 countries.

This is Vera's first trip to Nunavut.

"It's just nice to help out the guy. It's a very impressive place where we're going to and I think he'll be very happy with the spot. I'll send him pictures," King said.

Ross is reportedly writing a book about the experience.