cemeteries
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The Myth of Running Out of Cemetery Space
One of the prevailing myths is that we, as a country, are running out of cemetery space. While some of the cemeteries that were established in the 19th century may be short of space (although there are still graves available), that is definitely not the case on Long Island. I was happy to be able…
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Love Stories in Stone: Five Couples, Five Cemeteries
Love stories are not confined to novels or cinema; many of the most enduring are written quietly into the landscapes of our cemeteries. For the February issue of American Cemetery & Cremation magazine, I turned to five couples whose devotion did not end at death but instead reshaped the spaces where they rest. Their monuments—some…
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Westchester in Repose
Some of my favorite cemeteries are located in New York’s Westchester County. They are cemeteries I return to again and again. In the July issue of American Cemetery & Cremation magazine, I featured several of them in an article. Impresario Florenz Ziegfeld is buried in Kensico Cemetery with his second wife, actress Billie Burke, who famously played…
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Green-Wood Cemetery’s Most Popular Tour Guide
My profile of Marge Raymond, Green-Wood Cemetery’s tour guide extraordinaire, is in the April issue of American Cemetery & Cremation magazine. Marge been giving tours at Green-Wood Cemetery for almost two decades and is a favorite of visitors. But that’s not all: she’s also a singer, who has sung with some famous recording artists. In…
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3 Myths About Green Burials: A Funeral Director’s Perspective
In funeral parlance, ‘green burial’ may be the most hyped phrase around. References to this ‘new’ and seemingly popular type of disposition seem to be everywhere these days, particularly in the press. And since we, or a loved one, may be headed in that direction, we might have looked up the subject. Reading those stories…
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Lessons You Can Learn From a Tour In Your Local Cemetery
If you’re looking to explore your roots, or just want to soak up some regional history, look no further than your local cemetery. On most mornings, that is exactly where I go, because I am a funeral director. But I often head there on my off-time, too. Working as a funeral director has piqued my…