By FRED KRONER
Perceptions don’t always match reality.
Driving through a cemetery – who does that, anyway? – can reveal a view that is not entirely accurate.
At Mahomet’s Riverside Cemetery (along Rt. 47 north), it appears there is a severely restricted area (on the south side) for more burials.
Paul Christie, who has been the sexton for all of Mahomet’s cemeteries for almost 17 years, said the truth is not what passersby might believe.
“There are quite a few (plots) left,” Christie said. “There are more spaces left than what I have used up to now (in almost 17 years).”
The same is true at Grandview Memorial Gardens (located along Rt. 150, across from the Anderson’s elevator).
“The rule of thumb is that you can get 1,000 (burials) per acre,” Grandview President Guy Saxton said. “As a guess, I’d say there’s enough (available space) for a hundred years.”
In addition to 30 acres that have been developed, Grandview owns another 15 acres that have not yet been developed on the northeast part of the parcel.
Christie said there are limited plots available at other Mahomet cemeteries besides Riverside.
There are no openings at Bryant Cemetery (along Sunny Acres Rd.) and only a few at Middletown Cemetery (across from Sangamon on Main).
“I’ve only done one (burial) there in the last 10 or 12 years,” Christie said. “I try not to do many there until I get all the headstones fixed.”
That could be another couple years, he said.
Christie has also had some burials at the Phillippe Cemetery (in rural Dewey, on CR 2400 N., north of Mahomet).
At Riverside, Christie said the south side wasn’t even plotted at the turn of the century.
For at least two reasons, some spots within a cemetery where no headstones are visible may not be available for future burials.
“Some (headstones) are missing,” Christie said. “Weather and Mother Nature has been pretty hard on some of them. It’s likely they were used and the old stone went away.”
Christie’s to-do list includes fixing or replacing damaged or missing headstones.
“On average, we get 10 to 15 fixed a year,” he said. “We try not to lose any of the history. We try to improve them every year, upgrade and make them better.”
Other vacant spots may, in fact, not have been filled.
“We get calls from people saying, ‘Grandpa bought these plots and we don’t want them,’” said Jay Yost, the chief operating officer at Mahomet’s Blair-Owens Funeral Home.
Yost said there’s no easy answer to those callers. By law, funeral homes in Illinois are not allowed to sell burial plots.
“I encourage people to donate to the Salvation Army,” Yost said.
Christie speculates that some unfilled plots may have been sold, but surviving family members are unaware or don’t have the documentation. Those plots may stay vacant.
“Some spots may never be used if no family members are left,” he said. “I don’t want to use it because you never know (if a distant relative may someday claim it). If I can’t prove someone owns it, I can’t sell it.”
One recent trend is indisputable, according to Yost. Cremations are on the rise.
“It’s way higher than when I started working with families 20 years ago,” Yost said. “It was rare then.
“Now, we’re at 60 percent cremations.”
There are varied reasons for the increase, including some churches becoming more open to the concept.
“Some people don’t want to take the ground space,” Yost added.
Still others want to have their ashes spread at a favorite location.
Blair Owens offers different options for families who choose cremation.
One choice is to provide a rental casket for a viewing, allowing people to attend a visitation and say their goodbyes before the cremation is done.
Besides the traditional cremation, where the remains are returned to families, some prefer to have a memorial service and have the cremated remains buried.
Yost said there are significant costs savings for those who purchase a plot to bury cremated remains.
“About half-price (of a full-sized plot),” Yost said.
Saxton said it’s possible to have double burials on one plot, “a full and a cremation,” he said.
