Burying Cremation Remains in a Cemetery

One of the cremation services offered in Camillus, NY is burial of cremation remains in a cemetery. There may be times when you are at a graveside service for a friend or family member who has died. However, instead of casket sitting on the grave site, there is an urn that is placed on a pedestal.

As with many other things about humans, generational differences often meet in death. Older family members, including parents and grandparents, who died years or decades ago, chose burial in a cemetery, which was the most traditional funeral option until recently. However, as subsequent generations of family members are dying, they have more choices about what kind of funeral they want. One of those options is cremation. Currently, approximately 50 percent of funerals today are cremation.

The decision to bury cremation remains is sometimes an agreed-upon compromise between older family members who want a traditional burial, and younger family members who either want to be cremated or choose cremation for their older family members when they die.

Another reason why cremation remains are buried is because their family already owns a cemetery plot. A third reason – and this happens frequently with spouses who die many years apart – is that a surviving spouse chooses cremation but wants to be buried next to a long-dead spouse who had a traditional burial.

There are three options for burying cremation remains in a cemetery. One option is to bury them in a traditional cemetery plot. Another option is to store them in a niche in a columbarium. A final option is burying them in an urn garden.

If your family has its own cemetery or has a group of cemetery plots for, then burial of cremation remains in a traditional cemetery plot makes sense. The funeral home will check with the cemetery about their policies regarding burying cremation remains. Some cemeteries will allow multiple urns to be buried in a single cemetery plot, but that policy needs to be verified if this is what you and your family are planning to do with cremation remains.

Columbariums are a common feature in cemeteries. They may be a standalone aboveground structure or they may be housed in a mausoleum. A columbarium has niches where that are large enough to hold an urn and a few of your loved one’s small personal items. Every niche in a columbarium has a gravestone or a grave marker that is placed on the outside, identifying the deceased just like a traditional cemetery gravestone.

As the number of cremations continues to increase, many cemeteries are designating specific parts as urn gardens where cremation remains can be buried. These are beautifully-landscaped areas which may have sidewalks and benches for family members to linger and 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, now is the time for you and your family to think about whether you want cremation or burial. If cremation is chosen, do you want to buried with other family members, and do you want your immediate family buried together, whether they are cremated or not?

If you’d like to know more about cremation services in Camillus, NY, our compassionate and experienced team at Bagozzi Twins Funeral Home, Inc. is here to help. You can visit us at our funeral home at 2601 Milton Ave., Solvay, NY 13209, or you can call us today at (315) 468-2431.