Burying Cremains in a Cemetery

With Niagara, WI cremations, you may be attending a graveside service for someone who has died where, instead of a casket, an urn is sitting on a pedestal. As generational differences often meet in death, many times parents were raised with traditional burial as the most common choice for disposition of the body, while their children and grandchildren have been given more options. Cremations are the most common alternative to traditional burials, accounting for about half of funerals today. 

Many times burying cremains is a compromise between parents who favor traditional burial, and children who either themselves want to be cremated or choose cremation for their parents after they die. Other times, the family may already own the cemetery plot, or a loved one chooses cremation but wants to be buried next to a spouse or another family member who had a traditional burial. 

There are three common options for burying cremains in a cemetery. One option is burying the cremains in traditional cemetery plot. Another option is storing the cremains in an above-ground columbarium (a room or building that has slots where urns are stored). A third option is using an urn garden to bury the urn (cemeteries will often have a small landscaped area that is solely used to bury urns). 

Traditional cemetery plots make sense if your family has its own cemetery or has purchased a group of cemetery plots for all the family members. You should check with the cemetery about their policies for burying cremains. If the cremains are to be buried near a deceased spouse or other family member, you will need to make sure a plot is available there. Some cemeteries will allow multiple urns to be buried in a single plot, but you need to be sure to ask if this is the case if that's what you're planning to do. 

Columbariums are becoming more common in cemeteries. They are above-ground structures that have a vast array of external designs, from very simple to very elaborate, and different kinds of slot options for urn storage. Some columbariums have their slots designed so that you can include a small memorial with the urn. Each urn in a columbarium is identified by a headstone or a grave marker that is placed on the outside of the slot. The designs for these are as extensive as the designs available for traditional burial headstones and grave markers. 

As cremations become more popular, cemeteries are designing urn gardens to bury cremains. Many times, these landscaped areas feature sidewalks and benches that give families a peaceful environment to spend time with their deceased loved ones. 

If you don't have a cemetery plot already, or space in a columbarium or urn garden reserved, it's a good idea to consider, not only the present, but the future. You'll want to make sure that your deceased loved one is in an accessible location and you'll also want to think about where the rest of the family will be buried, either after cremation or a traditional funeral service, so that, if possible, everyone will be together. 

If you'd like more information about burying cremains after Niagara, WI cremations, our compassionate and experienced staff at Jacobs Funeral Homes & Crematory can help you. You can visit us at our funeral home at 1244 River St., Niagara, WI 54141, or you can call us today at (715) 251-4100.