Greenwood Cemetery

Cremation Options

Greenwood Cemetery offers a number of choices for a cremation interment. In all areas of the cemetery we allow two cremations per grave space or a combination of one cremation and one traditional in-ground burial per grave space.

A 'Place'

Every person should have a ‘place’ where their lives are memorialized. There should be a 'place' to remember, to remind those who knew, and those who never knew, of a man or woman who touched many lives down through the years. As memories fade and generations pass, we lose track of those whose shoulders upon which we stand. We build monuments to Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson for a reason. Those monuments and others remind us not only of the man but of the foundations of our country. But it was not just Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson who built this country, it was the men and women who built a farm from the wilderness; who built a business that provided essential services; who built churches and schools and hospitals; and who raised families in good times and in bad.

Cemeteries are the one 'place' where one can go to be reminded of those who have had such an influence on our country and upon ourselves.

Columbarium

One choice for interment is a columbarium (a mausoleum for cremation entombment). The purchase of a columbarium niche includes room for two appropriately sized urns. The cost of the niche includes lettering the name(s) and dates on the front of the niche.

There are two columbariums which are not in this photo. Each has a beautiful view of Little Traverse Bay. The flag flies in honor of all of the veterans buried in this section.

Traditional Interment

Many families continue to make interments of cremains on traditional cemetery lots. The "look and feel" of a traditional burial remains but the cremains are interred. This allows many more options as to monuments or markers or the planting of shrubbery and flowers. There are many different locations in the cemetery available for traditional interment offering a range of choices.

Granite memorials are available which have a space for the cremains to be placed within the granite. These can be benches or traditional monuments.

Scattering Garden

Loved ones may scatter cremains here at no charge. The name and pertinent information about the person will be kept in our records, both in our office and on the Internet. Granite tablets are available for inscription of the person's name and dates.

For those who would like their loved one scattered in our garden but are unable to do so themselves, we offer the service of scattering the cremains at no charge. If desired we will also arrange for a clergyman to have a short service. We believe that having your loved one in a beautiful setting with their name in our cemetery records and inscribed into the granite tablet will mark their final resting place and provide a 'place' for loved ones to visit in years to come.

Thoughts about Scattering

We believe it is vitally important to inter cremations in a cemetery rather than scatter the remains elsewhere. Because of our work with genealogists and our role as keepers of history we know it is important for future generations to have a place to 'go' to remember a relative - sometimes a relative they have never met in life.

The cemetery is a resource for genealogy research since it provides a recorded history of our lives for future generations. With this in mind, some families have chosen to memorialize their loved ones here at the cemetery even though scattering elsewhere has already taken place.