How to Choose a Cemetery

As part of funerals at funeral homes in Dayton, OH, your loved one will be buried in a plot in a cemetery that you choose. While some people choose a cemetery and pay for or reserve a plot before they die, many people do not.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• If your loved one was a military veteran, they might be eligible for free burial in a national cemetery.

• If your loved one was a member of a church, you could talk to the clergy to see if there is a plot available in the church’s graveyard.

• You can ask the funeral director for cemetery recommendations.

• As you tour each cemetery, consider how convenient it is to access, how crowded and noisy it is, and whether it can accommodate your wishes for your loved one’s burial.

Therefore, you may be in a situation where you will need to decide on a cemetery to bury your loved one in. This can be a difficult decision to make, especially in the flurry of decisions that you will have to make during the funeral arrangement process. Here are some ideas that may help you in finding the right place for your loved one to bury.

There are a couple of easy options that may be available to you. First, if your loved one was a military veteran, there are several funeral benefits that offer the Department of Veterans Affairs that are available to you.

One of these veteran’s funeral benefits is a free burial in a national cemetery with a free grave marker for your deceased loved one. You will need to provide a copy of your loved one’s military discharge orders (Form DD-214) to your funeral director, and they will coordinate all the arrangements for burial with the local office of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

If your loved one was not a member of the military but was a member of a church that has its own graveyard, you can talk with the clergy of the church to see if there is a plot available in the church’s graveyard for your loved one’s burial. Some churches with graveyards provide free plots to their members, while others may charge a small fee to cover groundskeeping expenses.

If neither of these options fits your loved one’s situation, then you can start by asking the funeral director for cemetery recommendations. They can give you a list that you can investigate on your own to see which one you think is best suited for the burial of your loved one.

Go to each of the cemeteries on the list. There are factors you should consider as you tour each one:

• How convenient is access to the cemetery? You, your family, and friends of your loved one will visit the cemetery where your loved one is buried quite often. Is it easy to find? Is it located in an area where traffic is often heavy? Is it easy to get in and out of?
• Is the cemetery crowded and noisy? Some cemeteries, because they are so large, can often be filled with people all the time. This can make visits to your loved one’s grave less tranquil than you might like. As well, some cemeteries are located in noisy areas (near industrial complexes or near high-traffic business areas), which can also make your visits to the cemetery less than optimal?
• Can the cemetery accommodate your wishes for your loved one’s burial? Some cemeteries have restrictions on the type of headstones or monuments you can place on your loved one’s grave. They may have other restrictions, as well, that will prevent you from having the burial and gravesite you want to have for your loved one.

Once you’ve found the cemetery that best meets your needs, then you can let your funeral director know and they will take care of everything else (including obtaining the plot, unless you do that directly with the cemetery you decide you want your loved one to be buried in).

If you’d like guidance on cemeteries from funeral homes in Dayton, OH, our compassionate and experienced staff at Glickler Funeral Home & Cremation Service can help.