Anyone who has ever lost a loved one, whether it be a family member, a friend, or a pet, has thought at one time or another, “I really wish that I could talk to them,” or “I wish that I could tell ____ about this.”
And now, thanks to a group of Grand Rapids death care workers, you can do that just by picking up a very specific phone.
What is a Wind Phone?
The first-ever wind phone popped up in Japan back in 2010. It was created by a man named Itaru Sasaki, who wanted a way to feel connected to his cousin who had recently passed away.
The original wind phone was simple, an old phone booth in Sasaki’s garden in which he placed an old rotary phone. There are no cables or wires connecting the phone to anything; it simply sits there, disconnected. The premise of the wind phone is that you can dial your loved ones and speak into the phone, letting the wind carry your words to them.
Grand Rapids’ Oak Grove Cemetery’s Wind Phone
Grand Rapids’ first and only wind phone was placed in Oak Grove Cemetery in Kentwood in September 2025. Oak Grove is one of the city’s original cemeteries and is home to a large section that is the final resting place of hundreds of Grand Rapids’ unclaimed neighbors…