At Funeral Director Daily we have harped continuously about some of the problems plaguing many cemeteries in this day of fewer casketed interments and less top-line revenue coming into the cemetery coffers.  We’ve pointed out that at some point in the not so distant future many cemeteries will not be able to afford their own upkeep.

In Ithaca, New York, the city owned Ithaca City Cemetery has been fortunate to find a benefactor to the cemetery.  In this article from the Cornell Chronicle you can read about Cornell University’s $75,000 donation to the cemetery.  The cemetery is the resting place of university founder Ezra Cornell and many of his relatives.

The cemetery, established in the 1790’s, is also somewhat unique in that there are many hillside vaults where families are entombed.  Many of these vaults are in need of repair as some have stood for about 200 years.

According to the article, last year the City of Ithaca committed $75,000 to repair these vaults.  After it was established that amount would not be enough, the college stepped forward to match that amount.

Again, according to the article, the “Cornell contribution does not come with any specific requirements, but. . . .(the college) is grateful that the area around the Cornell family vault is a place that the city staff hopes can be fortified.”

Funeral Director Daily take:  In many places in the country, cemeteries and their well-being are under some tough circumstances.  From our point of view, very few saw the age of cremation scattering and taking the cremated remains home under the guise of what it would do to cemeteries.

For-profit cemeteries seem to have the pre-selling opportunities and investment in columbariums and the like  to move forward, but those cemeteries that belong to cities and cemetery associations and have long served just to be a repository for the remains and not a profit center seem to be really reeling.   We have seen, and believe we will see many more, be taken over by townships, counties, and municipalities. It is simply an evolution in how our nation has come to care for its dead.

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