I’ve been asked to explain how cemeteries work. This will take more than one week to explain, but here is part one …
There are a number of cemeteries in Chatham-Kent; many are operated by the Municipality and some are operated privately (generally by a board of directors). I will keep this Musings to the cemeteries that are operated by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent such as Evergreen Cemetery in Blenheim and Greenwood Cemetery in Ridgetown which is operated on behalf of the Greenwood Cemetery Board by way of a contract.
Let’s say that I bought eight graves in Evergreen Cemetery. In each of those graves, I can inter one casket and two urns containing cremated remains, or if there is not a casket interred in a grave, I can inter four urns in that grave. There are a couple of rules though that must be considered. First, since I own the graves, permission must be granted for someone else to be interred there. Second, if you are thinking about using a grave for one casket and two urns, the urns (if interred before the casket) need to be interred in such a way as to not be disturbed when the casket interment is made
So how do other people get permission to use the extra graves that I bought? There are several ways that can happen. The best way may be for me to take care of giving permission myself and that can be done through the Chatham-Kent Municipal Cemetery Office. However, in the event that I die before I have given permission, there are still options available for the continued use of cemetery property. Should you have any questions, feel free to call the Cemetery Office at 519-360-1998 or e-mail them at [email protected]
