Cremation offers more options for permanent memorialization than a traditional burial. Traditional burial provides only two choices: a casket buried below the ground or interred in an above-ground mausoleum.
For this reason and many others, more families opt for cremation. On average, over 57 percent of Americans choose cremation over traditional burial.
Rather than limiting your choices for permanent memorialization, there are numerous places to gather and remember your loved one’s life and legacy.
Memorialization Options
Cremation Garden
Cremation gardens are an attractive option for combining a natural return to the earth with a permanent memorial marker. Cremation gardens often contain benches or places for quiet reflection.
Family Cremation Estates
Customize a private area for multiple family members or generations. You may select personalized markers to suit various needs and preferences.
Cremation Pedestals
Stone is traditional in a cemetery or memorial garden. Choose a decorative top for your loved one’s pedestal, such as a statue, urn, or symbol to reflect their profession, passion, or military service.
Memorial Gardens
Beautifully landscaped, memorial gardens may be self-contained or within a larger cemetery. You may bury your loved one’s cremated remains below ground or within a water feature, bench, or statute.
Community Columbariums
Similar to an above-ground mausoleum, columbariums are usually stone or marble walls with individual niches to house cremated remains of community members. You may personalize your loved one’s permanent resting place with a plaque or inscription.
Glass Front Niche
Glass-front niches offer unique personalization of a loved one’s space in a community columbarium. These provide a place for a decorative urn, photographs, and small mementos.
Cemetery Plot
Many cemeteries allow you to bury your loved one’s cremated remains in a traditional plot. You may choose a traditional headstone or marker per your loved one’s religious and personal beliefs.
Choosing a Permanent Memorialization
There are no right or wrong choices for a permanent memorialization of your loved one’s cremated remains.
Some factors that you and your family might wish to consider:
- Location and convenience for family members who want to visit regularly.
- Individual or singular memorialization or a family cremation estate or garden.
- Your loved one’s preferences, religious beliefs, background, and expressed wishes.
Cremation allows you to create a loving and unique permanent memorialization. Many families find comfort in having an enduring memorial to celebrate and honor their loved ones.