Burial Options
Colchester Cemetery offers 5 burial options:
(1) Plots for in-ground cremated remains
(2) A Memorial Garden for cremation scatterings
(3) Plots for in-ground casket burials
(4) Plots for in-ground natural burials
(5) Columbarium niches for cremated remains.
Cremation Plots
A Colchester Cemetery cremation plot is 3 feet by 3 feet and will accommodate the cremated remains of up to two deceased, usually placed in burial urns and inserted one on top of the other.
Cremated remains may also be interred in a full burial plot. A full burial plot measures 4 ft by 9 ft and can accommodate one or two caskets in liners or vaults and/or cremation remains. If only one casket is placed in the plot, up to two hole openings can be made on the surface of the plot, with up to two sets of cremated remains placed in each opening. If no caskets are placed in the plot, then up to three holes may made in the plot, with each holding up to two sets of cremains. In this case, three approved memorial markers are allowed to be placed on the plot surface.
The purchaser, family, next-of-kin, or estate administrator are responsible for related funeral and burial costs such as the burial permit, memorial marker or headstone, and any other related costs outside of the cremation plot purchase.
Cremated Ashes Scattering
The scattering of cremated remains is also permitted in the designated Memorial Garden area on the southeast corner of the Cemetery.
A modest fee is charged for each scattering. The family or next of kin is required to obtain a standard-sized brass plaque displaying the deceased’s information for installation on the Memorial Garden wall.
Traditional Burial Plots
A traditional burial will normally involve the interment of a casket containing a decedent’s embalmed remains within a liner or vault. Purchase options for the casket, liner, and vault are offered by most funeral homes which will also arrange for setting of the liner or vault. The interment of embalmed remains is permitted only when a liner or vault is in place.
For full burial plots, a maximum of two decedents’ remains may be interred in one plot. The first must be enclosed in a casket and placed within a liner or vault nine feet below ground level. If the second set of remains are not interred at the same time as the first, they may be later placed on top of the first, within an additional liner or vault.
An approved headstone or memorial marker is required to be placed on the plot within one year of a burial. The refundable deposit paid with the purchase of the plot will be returned when the headstone or memorial marker is installed.
The purchaser, family, next-of-kin, or estate administrator are responsible for related funeral and burial costs such as plot excavation, burial permit, memorial markers or headstones, and any other related costs outside of the burial plot purchase.
Natural Burial Plots
Deceased remains may also be interred by way of a simple or natural burial in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition, but rather allows the body to be naturally recycled. Simple Cemetery burials are subject to the following restrictions:
Simple burial plots are comingled among traditional burial plots in the cemetery.
Advance notification of a Simple burial is required to be given to the cemetery.
A written confirmation that the body has not been embalmed is required. In such cases, no liner or vault is required to be installed.
Deceased remains must be buried in an approved organic burial shroud, or a certified biodegradable casket free of metal, stains, paint, or varnish. Families are responsible for ensuring that all materials buried with the deceased are biodegradable.
No double-depth graves are permitted for Simple burials. Only one set of remains is permitted to be buried in a Simple burial grave. Couples wishing mutual Simple burials are required to purchase separate plots.
It is up to the family, next-of-kin, client, or party responsible for the Simple burial to arrange for the lowering of the remains and/or casket into the grave. Funeral homes will often arrange for or provide these services for their clients.
An approved headstone or memorial marker is required to be placed on the plot within one year of a Simple burial. The refundable deposit paid with the purchase of the plot will be returned when the headstone or memorial marker is installed.
Like cremation and burial plot interments, the purchaser, family, next-of-kin, or estate administrator are responsible for related funeral and burial costs such as the plot excavation, burial permits, memorial markers or headstones, and any other related costs outside of the plot purchase.
Columbarium
This standalone granite edifice is six feet high and eight feet long with four rows of niches on both sides.
The top row has double-wide niches measuring 1’ x 1’ x 2‘ - large enough for anyone who may wish to inter the ashes of several family members together in one niche.
Each of the bottom three rows have 1’ x 1’ x 1’ compartments which will typically accommodate up to two urns.
The identifying marker for each niche is its granite door on which is incised the deceased resident(s)’ relevant personal information. The location of each niche is identified horizontally by a row number and vertically by an alphabet letter.
