Cemetery Plots

Cemetery plots should be purchased in advance of needs, if the situation allows. A young person temporarily living in a particular area, but intending later to move, probably will not want to purchase a cemetery lot in that area.

However, an older person who expects to be fairly settled should certainly acquire a cemetery plot, rather than leave this to family to do later.

Costs range from small to enormous. In many cities, it is now necessary to obtain a concrete vault to contain the casket. This is a sanitary requirement, but it also is intended to cause people to bury their dead outside the city or to use cremation instead.

“Green” cemeteries are now available, in which the lot is purchased in what appears to be a beautiful meadow full of wild flowers. After the burial, which is in a pine temporary casket or just a shroud, the grave is filled in and later settles, after which it is filled in again.

Often a tree is planted above the lot, which is usually not marked. Instead, the cemetery keeps a global positioning satellite record of each grave, which is specific enough to locate it. An electronic device which can be read from a hand-held computer is placed just above the casket, so that each location can be confirmed.

Each person should decide whether he or she wants to be buried in a traditional cemetery or a green one, and the lot should be chosen accordingly. Usually husband and wife will be buried adjacent to one another, along with any children who died young. Plots are often sold in groupings which will hold up to four graves, and if a traditional in-city cemetery is chosen the same concrete vault may hold all four caskets.