Ledger Laid to Rest

Heath Ledger’s emotional day of memorial services ended Saturday with a spontaneous swim at the Oscar-nominated actor’s favorite seaside hangout. Michelle Williams, Ledger’s ex-partner and mother of their two-year old daughter Matilda, and some 50 other mourners dove fully clothed into the surf on Cottesloe Beach, in Ledger’s hometown of Perth. Earlier in the day approximately 500 family members and friends gathered at a local chapel to hear actress Cate Blanchett, who recently starred alongside Ledger in the Bob Dylan biopic,"I’m Not There," give a eulogy. Dylan’s song “The Times They Are A-Changin” was also featured in the ceremony. Ledger was later cremated in a smaller service at the nearby Fremantle Cemetery. Mourners then gathered for a wake on the beach at Ledger’s beloved Indiana Tea House. “It’s what Heath would have wanted,” one attendee told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

Ledger, 28, died in his New York apartment January 22. A medical examiner ruled his death an accidental overdose of six prescription drugs identified by their generic names: oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, commonly known as Valium (RHHBY.PK), temazepam, alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax (PFE), and doxylamine. “Heath’s accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication,” his father, Kim, said in a statement. On February 2, Hollywood friends of Ledger including Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Sienna Miller and Ellen DeGeneres gathered at the Sony Lot for a private memorial service. 

An unexpected tragedy is difficult to recover from emotionally, but some advance planning can make it easier to pay for financially. “Most funerals are unplanned and take place within a week or shortly after death,” says Sarah Orr funeral director of Adams Funeral Home in Ozark, Missouri, who says funerals can run as high as $13,000 or more.