ARVADA, Colo. — Andy Davis, 42, passed away quickly after becoming sick while also battling leukemia. Before he died, he told his family he didn't want to be buried in a cemetery.
Nine months later, his family takes walks down the street to the neighborhood park to visit what his body helped grow.
Andy was the fifth person in Colorado to undergo human composting since it became legal last year. The soil created from his remains was used to plant a tree at the park in Arvada near his family's home.
"He just said that’s what he would like to have had done. We didn’t really talk about it for too long, because it was clearly an uncomfortable subject, but it was the answer I needed," said Carrie Davis, Andy's wife. "We would like to have a piece of Andy with us all the time and watch it grow."
Andy died in November, but not even the cancer that took his life can stop his family from celebrating his birthday. Carrie and their daughter, Kira, now decorate "Andy's Tree" for all the holidays.
"It’s decorated for his birthday because his birthday will be this Sunday," Carrie said as she stood with their daughter around the tree. "Well, it would have been this Sunday."
Colorado legalized human composting in 2021. The process uses natural materials to break down the body and turn it to soil. It takes about six months while the person's remains sit in a capsule.
RELATED: Body composting begins in Colorado, after state legalizes this alternative to burial or cremation
The Natural Funeral in Longmont is the only business in Colorado offering natural reduction. So far, The Natural Funeral said, 29 people have started the process of human decomposition and 10 have finished.
"Andy has helped build some plants, some trees and things like that. He lives on in everybody in different parts of the country right now," Carrie said. "I love that, that we could share Andy with other people."
At his celebration of life, his family gave out the soil with the intention that people could take him and grow new life all around the country.
State law says people can only grow flowers, plants or trees with the soil -- not food.
The remainder of the soil now waits in Carrie's garage for more family and friends to take the soil home and grow new life.
"By planting Andy in various areas and with trees, it’s all about renewal," Carrie said. "It’s giving life. I don’t know, there’s something really special about that."
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS