Funeral Service Merchandising- Cemetery Merchandise and Property Flashcards
A funeral home that includes, as part of its operations, a cemetery.
- Not a dominant market force, but are a considerable segment
- May or may not have separate staff members to handle funeral home or cemetery operations
Combination Firms
- Memorial
- Epitaph
- Cenotaph
Cemetery Merchandise
A physical object that is designed for the purpose of remembering.
- Headstones
- Markers
- Monuments
Memorial
A small headstone, usually of one piece, used to identify individual graves.
Marker
A structure, usually of stone or metal, erected to commemorate the life, deeds, or career of a deceased person; from the Latin word meaning to remind.
Monument
To both nenorialize the deceased and identify that individual’s final resting place.
Purpose of a Memorial
An inscription placed on a monument to commemorate the deeds or qualities of the departed.
Epitaph
A monument erected to the memory of the dead, with the dead human body (or bodies) not present.
- Occasionally seen in cemeteries or municipal, state, or federal parks
Cenotaph
- Temporary marker
- Permanent markers
Memorial Styles
Not intended to be a permanent memorial, the purpose of this si to identify the grave of a recently deceased individual until a permanent memorial can be ordered, manufactured, and installed.
- Information of deceased usually limited to name and dates of birth and death.
- Constructed of rather durable materials such as aluminum or plastic- can be quite long-lived
Temporary Marker
Designed to be long-lasting items of commemoration and rememberance.
- Construction marterials are especially durable and hold up well to prolonged exposure to outdoor elements.
- Granite, bronze (most common two), marble, and slate
Permanent Memorials
An extremely hard and durable igneous rock seen in a wide range of natural coloration.
Granite
An alloy of copper and tin/zinc.
Bronze
A limestone. Not as durable as granite. This will begin to soften and erode as wind and water weather the monument’s surface; acid rain can be especially destructive.
Marble
A metamorphic rock sometimes used in memorial and mausoleum construction, but more common in areas where this is naturally abundant.
Slate
- Flush
- Bevel top
- Slant
- Bench
- Upright
- Specialty
- These can be further classified according to whether they are intended to memorialize one person (single) or two people (double, or “companion.”)
6 Basic Type and Styles of Permanent Memorials
- Base
- Tablet (Die)
Two Basic Components of a Monument
The lower or supporting part of a monument.
Base
The main part of a monument; the upright portion above the base; where the inscription is located.
Tablet (Die)
A small headstone which is set with its top even with the surrounding terrain.
- Flat granite markers and flat bronze memorials (usually seen mounted to a granite base).
- Occasionally used with a larger, main monument
Flush Marker
A small headstone, set above the ground, with a slightly slanting top.
- Similar to the flush marker but offers slightly greater visibility.
Bevel Top Marker
A cemetery marker that has a face that has an angle greater than 45 degrees but less than 90 degrees in relationship to the terrain surrounding the marker.
Slant Marker
A place to set, rest, and reflect that often includes an inscription. Typically supplements another memorial.
Bench Memorial
Stand perpendicular in relationship to the surrounding terrain. Seen in 2 styles:
- Vertical tablet
- Horizontal tablet
Upright Monuments
A type of cemetery monument in which the die (tablet) is taller than it is wide.
Vertical Tablet
A type of cemetery monument in which the die is wider than it is tall.
Horizontal Tablet
Can be of any design, whatever the mind can imagine, the manufacturer can create, and the pocketbook can afford:
- statuary
- crosses
- hearts
- animals
- angels
Specialty Memorial
- Vases formed of stone or bronze
- Bronze appliques
- Lighted pieces of acrylic scuplture powered by solar cells
- Photographs of the deceased reproduced on ceramic.
Monument Accessories
A building containing crypts or vaults for entombment; an above ground structure for burial.
Mausoleum
A chamber in a mausoleum used to contain the casketed remains of a deceased individual.
Crypt
A structure (or room or space in a mausoleum or other building) containing niches or recesses used to hold cremated remains.
Columbarium
A recess or space in a columbarium used for the permanent placement of cremated remains.
Niche
Allow for permanent above-ground disposition and memorialization of either the intact body or cremated remains.
Both the Mausoleum and the Columbarium
Filled with many crypts or niches; the largest can accomodate hundreds or even thousands of individuals, all housed communally in one structure.
- Location of crypt or niche will dictate its price
- Heart or eye level = more expensive
- Near ceiling = less expensive
- Interior= more expensive
- Exterior= less expensive
Public Mausolea and Columbaria
Typically used to entomb members of a single family, are smaller in scale, and usually house the remains of two to eight individuals.
Private Mausolea
A single crypt accomodating a single casket.
Individual Crypt
Space for two caskets, placed either side by side or end to end.
Double (Companion) Crypt
Designed to accept head- or foot-first entombment of the casket; the length of the casket lies perpendicular to the crypt plate.
Most Crypt Spaces
Can be single or double varieties; the entombed casket lies parallel to the crypt front. This crypt consumes no more space than any other, it requires a substantial amount of crypt-front square footage.
Couch Crypt
Priced and arranged in a similar manner to crypts. Many of these feature glass fronts so that the urns therein remain visible.
Niches
An area of ground set aside and dedicated for the final disposition of dead human bodies.
Cemetery
A cemetery, or section of a cemetery, with only flush-to-the-ground type markers.
Memorial Park
Rarely is cemetery property itself purchased. When someone purchases a space at a cemetery, they are purchasing what is called:
Right of Interment or Right of Entombment
- Multiple-depth grave
- Lawn crypt
Variations of the Standard “Plot” Used for Earth Burial
Dug as deeply as necessary to accomodate two or more burials.
- Exceedingly common in federal and state veterans’ cemeteries
Multiple-Depth Grave
A grave space two or more persons may be buried in grave liners which have been stacked on top of one another.
Lawn Crypt
- Excavate a large area of land.
- Network of drainage pipes are laid across the bottom of the open area and covered with a layer of gravel
- Concrete grave lines, frequently stacked two deep, are put in place and covered with earth
- The raw ground is seeded or dressed with sod
Creating a Lawn Crypt
- Premium over and above the cost of a traditional grave may be charged for the “built-in” grave liners
- Cemeteries can double the capacity in a given area
Advantages of a Lawn Crypt
A section in a cemetery set aside for the scattering of the ashes of cremated human remains.
Scattering Garden
- Grave
- Lot
- Block
- Section
Key Terms- Cemetery Nomenclature
An excavation of earth as a place of interment.
Grave
A subdivision of a cemetery which consists of several graves.
Lot
A subdivision of a cemetery containing several lots.
Block
A subdivision of a cemetery containing several blocks.
Section (Garden)
