Please let me introduce myself. My name is Hugh Golden and I have worked at Lake View Cemetery in Jamestown for the past ten years. Hard to believe, ten years, as they say ‘Time Flies’, it really does. Kids in their forties? Six grandchildren? Where indeed does time go?

As families scatter further and further with each generation, beliefs, rituals, and how we each go about our lives may begin to transform and evolve. Things may be done differently now. The old rules and traditions just don’t fit. ‘Time Flies’!

In the death care industry (yes, it really is referred to as such!), the old rituals and traditions are also evolving, changing and transforming in ways past generations never dreamed. Cremation is now the most common form of disposition. (Yes, the manner in which our loved ones are cared for after death is known as disposition.). Nationwide sixty (60%) percent of Americans choose to be cremated as opposed to only twenty-seven (27%) percent in 2000. The cremation rate is expected to rise above sixty-five (65%) percent by 2030.

Why have cremation rates risen in the past two decades? A number of reasons: changing religious attitudes, generational migration, cost, and the consolation of having time to plan services and make travel arrangements. During the pandemic, cremation rates skyrocketed. But what happens to the cremated remains of our loved ones? Many families choose to have their loved ones inurned in traditional burial plots or niches. Some may choose to scatter the ashes at a location meaningful to the deceased. Or sometimes the ashes go home with the family and are placed on the mantle or some other place of prominence. And sometimes the ashes are put away in a cabinet, or cupboard, or in a closet. Remember, ‘Time Flies’!

While the cremation rate stands above sixty (60%) percent, the rate at which ashes are inurned varies anywhere from thirty-five (35%) percent to fifty (50%) percent. The remaining ashes have been scattered and have no memorial or are at home waiting for the ‘right’ time to take care of disposition. Everyone deserves to be remembered, to have their story told, whether in a cemetery or park or forest. Everyone deserves a memorial, a place for reflection and remembrance.

A family once called the cemetery and made arrangements to have Mom and Dad’s ashes inurned together. It seems Dad passed away a number of years prior and Mom had just passed. Mom and Dad had a grave space at the cemetery and had taken care of all arrangements many years ago. A date was set for the inurnment, the grave was prepared, and all was ready. The day before the inurnment was to take place, the daughter called, distraught — the family could not find Dad’s urn. They knew Mom had held onto the urn so that they could be buried together. The burial was postponed. Two weeks later, the daughter called, relieved, they had found Dad’s urn in the back of the television cabinet. A new inurnment date was set and all turned out well. I can only imagine the heavy hearts this family felt for two weeks as they searched for Dad’s urn. ‘Time Flies’, things are forgotten or not conveyed to others.

Yes, ‘Time Flies’. Please, take the time to consult with a funeral director, cemetery association or a clergy member to make arrangements for the proper disposition and/or memorialization for your loved one.