Are there differences between cemeteries?
Cemeteries can usually be categorized in one of two ways: traditional cemeteries and memorial parks or gardens.

A traditional cemetery—like those in use for hundreds of years—features upright, stone monuments. Many also have private or family mausoleums for aboveground interment. Since many traditional cemeteries have served their communities for generations, they often become repositories of local history and feature interesting architecture, statuary and art, and prominent local citizens.

Memorial parks and gardens are a newer type of cemetery. They are cemeteries designed more like parks and gardens where individual memorials are placed level with the ground in order to blend with the beauty of the landscape. Some cemeteries have family lots consisting of multiple gravesites. Family lots typically feature an aboveground monument. These cemeteries feature expansive lawns, trees, flowering beds and gardens, and sculpture or architectural features meant to provide places for reflection and memorialization.

Either traditional cemeteries or memorial parks may be operated on a for-profit or not-for-profit basis. They can be owned by an individual or corporation, or by states, towns, counties, and religious or fraternal groups. The Mt. Elliott Cemetery Association is a not-for-profit enterprise. We are a Catholic-affiliated organization that welcomes all Christian denominations to any of our six properties.

What are my choices in ground burial?
Generally speaking, there are single gravesites and family lots comprised of multiple gravesites.

How do I choose a grave?
Choosing a grave depends on personal preference, but there are a number of things to consider when making this decision. What type of memorial do you prefer—for example, a marker set flat on the ground or an upright monument? Are you arranging for yourself or your family? How many burials do you expect to take place? How much do you want to spend? Do you want to be near an art feature or a tree? Answers to these questions will help you make the right choice and are best decided after consulting with one of our family counselors.

What options are available besides ground burial?
Many cemeteries offer entombment in a columbarium or mausoleum that contain niche or crypt spaces. Mt. Elliott Cemetery Association has many choices including columbaria, and both outdoor and indoor, climate-controlled mausoleums. Some of our cemeteries also offer private family estates. Entombment in mausoleums or columbaria is also available for those who elect to be cremated.

Do I need a cemetery plot even if I’m going to be cremated?
Cremation is a process, not the final disposition of the remains. Therefore, cremating a body does not dispose of it but rather alters its form.

Memorialization is a respectful means to honoring a life lived. Cemeteries serve a very important function because they provide a dignified focal point to memorializing. Throughout history, memorialization has been a key life-affirming ritual of virtually every culture. We have always honored our dead.

Healthcare professionals say that burial practices, from the funeral or memorial service to creating a permanent memorialization, serve an important emotional function by helping to bring closure and allowing the healing process to begin. By creating a permanent spiritual place for a loved one’s remains, you fulfill the natural human desire for remembrance.

What is the Opening and Closing charge for?
Opening and Closing fees include a variety of services provided by the cemetery. Generally, the fee includes administration and permanent record keeping (determining ownership, obtaining permission and completion of other documentation which may be required, recording the specific details in the interment register, maintaining all legal files); opening and closing the grave (locating the grave and laying out the boundaries, excavating and filling the interment space); installation and removal of equipment; placement and removal of artificial grass dressing or matting at the grave site; and leveling, tamping, regrading and reseeding the grave site are typically included in this charge.

What is a burial vault?
A vault is a container into which a casket is placed in the ground. Burial vaults are typically made of concrete, though other materials are sometimes used.

Do I have to have a burial vault?
When burying a casket, we require that you have a vault or liner to prevent the ground from sinking. If you are burying an urn or container of cremated remains, a vault is not necessary.

What happens when a cemetery runs out of land?
Cemeteries continue to operate and serve the community even if they have sold all of their gravesites. They do so because most states (including Michigan) have laws that require funds to be set aside from each sale for the perpetual care and maintenance of the cemetery. Since growing numbers of individuals are purchasing graves in advance, those that have been sold will be opened when a death occurs, markers will be placed and other services will be provided.

How much do graves cost?
Grave prices vary and are normally based on their location. For example, graves in a section where there is a central feature such as a sculpture may be more expensive than those in non-feature sections. The number of interments permitted in a grave will also affect the price, as will the size of the grave. Graves that allow for a monument are more expensive due to the space required for the monument. For current prices in any of our cemeteries, refer to the price list shown on the web page for individual cemeteries or call the toll-free numbers shown on the contact page.

What does entombment mean?
Entombment (or interment) is the placing of human remains in a mausoleum or columbarium. It involves placing a casket or cremation urn in a crypt or niche—these are the individual compartments within a mausoleum or columbarium—which is then sealed.

What is a mausoleum?
A mausoleum is a large building designed to provide aboveground entombment for a large number of people. Sharing the cost of the mausoleum with other individuals makes it more affordable than a private mausoleum. Crypts are designed to hold caskets. After a casket is placed in a crypt, it is sealed with a granite front. Niches will accommodate urns containing cremated remains. Depending on location, niche spaces can be sealed by either a granite front or a glass front for those who wish to be able to view the urn inside the niche.

What are the advantages of a mausoleum burial?
Mausoleums are clean and dry. Our newest enclosed mausoleums are climate controlled for comfortable visitation year-round. Mausoleums offer a dignified alternative for those who simply don’t want to be interred in the ground. While crypt and niche spaces are generally viewed as more expensive, they do not require a burial vault or stone monument, so the investment may be comparable to ground burial.

Are there different types of crypts?
Yes. Single crypts are designed for one entombment only. We offer three different kinds of double crypts: a tandem crypt permits two entombments lengthwise in a crypt, a companion crypt permits two entombments side by side, and a couch crypt permits two entombments widthwise. Most mausoleums are often built five to six crypts high. The price of the crypt will depend on its location and type.

What is a columbarium?
A columbarium is an aboveground building or architectural feature that is comprised of numerous crypt and niche compartments for individual entombments.

Can I make the cemetery arrangements in advance?
Yes. When you plan ahead, you will be able to consider the many options available in a much more comfortable and deliberate way. You’ll be able to make an informed decision about your funeral and cemetery arrangements, and the kind of memorial you want. Making choices that are meaningful to both you and your family will give you peace of mind, knowing your family and friends will be relieved of the emotional and financial burden associated with making these arrangements. By prearranging your funeral and cemetery services, you also benefit by purchasing at today’s prices, free of inflationary pressures in the future.

How do I know you’ll take care of my gravesite after I’m gone?
A portion of your purchase price is designated for an endowment fund. Income from the endowment fund is used to provide care and maintenance at the cemetery forever. Regular care and maintenance activities can include cutting grass, planting and caring for trees and gardens, maintenance of water supply systems, roads, drainage, etc.

Will these cemeteries still be here in a hundred years?
A cemetery should be forever. Mt. Elliott Cemetery Association has been serving the greater Detroit community since 1841 and will continue to do so for many, many generations to come.

When I buy a grave space, do I get a deed like other types of real estate?
When you purchase a grave space, you are purchasing the right to designate who may be interred in that space, rather than purchasing the grave space itself, which remains the property and responsibility of the cemetery. You also have a right to place a memorial where rules permit.

Can I resell my grave?
At Mt. Elliott we have a repurchase program, or you may choose to sell your grave to a third party.

I heard the government will give veterans a grave marker. Is that true?
The United States government will provide a flat marker for graves that are not already marked for veterans of the armed forces. Granite markers are available that are compliant with our cemetery regulations. A funeral director, cemetery or local VA office can provide more details.