Alternatives to the traditional cemetery growing

As we commemorate Memorial Day today, we remember our military veterans and loved ones who have died before us. It is part of the process to visit our Maine cemeteries and pay our respects.

Traditional cemetery options are expanding in these modern times, giving the consumer many choices of final resting places for the mortal remains of the departed. Some of these choices include traditional cemetery plots, smaller burial plots for cremated remains, mausoleums for above-ground burial of bodies, and columbaria, similar in concept to the mausoleum but a smaller structure for cremated remains.

Services are sprouting up across the country to spread the cremated remains of loved ones in different ways, from burial at sea to release from helicopters over the forest. Traditional cemetery plots are the most popular method of interring the dead. There is a wide range of prices for these small plots of land. Sometimes a family will buy four to six contiguous plots anticipating the future needs of the family. Contacting your funeral director of choice or cemetery superintendent or sexton is a good first step to understanding available services and costs.

Some larger cemeteries have built mausoleums above ground, which accommodates the entire body in a congregate housinglike facility with 10 to 20 individual storage sites on each of four sides of the structure. During earlier times, mausoleums were built for individual wealthy families; their strong architecture was as varied as the whims of each family. For those choosing not to go into the cold, cold ground, mausoleums have supplied a solution.

Cremations now account for more than one-third of all final dispositions in America and are rapidly approaching 50 percent. Perceptions and attitudes have changed, and one of the attractive features is that cremations can be much less expensive than traditional burials.

Many families opt to bury the urn of cremains in the family plot, others purchase small cremation plots. Today, there are new structures being built or installed in several cemeteries across the state. Such a structure is called a columbarium, a term from the Latin meaning “pigeonhole.” Mount Hope and Mount Pleasant cemeteries in Bangor have new columbaria. These small buildings made of granite and marble can hold a hundred or so cremated remains in individual or double niches. In our mobile society, families can remove the remains should they move away and place them in a similar columbarium in their new community, a practice becoming very popular.

The spreading of cremated ashes by family members is also becoming a more traditional means of final disposal. Mountaintops and the ocean or streams are popular locations. There are many others. In some community locations – city parks, for example – the spreading of ashes is not permitted. Check with town or city officials to be safe.

While many prefer to keep their loved one’s cremains at home, there are several drawbacks to this solution. Cremated urns and ashes can be broken, lost or stolen. Additionally, spouse No. 2 may have a very hard time with spouse No. 1 taking up space on the mantle. When the departed is in one’s home, it is often difficult for extended family and friends to feel comfortable stopping by to pay their respects. A cemetery or a mountaintop give mourners a more peaceful, thoughtful and private venue to remember their loved one.

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