Graveyards Still Filled with Dead People

Graveyards Still Filled With Dead People

According to a recent study, a majority of America’s graveyards still have a lot of dead people in them.

“Humans are living longer, living healthier, and when they die, they stay in the ground a lot longer,” said Dale Weiner, grounds supervisor for St. Mary’s Cemetery in Potsdam, NY. One major concern for residents is where newly dead people are going to be buried. “They’re just gonna have to burn ‘em.” Mr. Weiner says.

Seeking alternatives to forced cremation, residents in Bangor, Maine have created the Yahoo Group, Bury Share, where you, or a loved one can sign up for co-operative shared grave plots. “I don’t mind, I guess. As long as I’m dead, put me in there with whoever” says Barbara Raines, 79. Her husband Daniel Raines, 82, feels differently. “I always thought I’d live and die beside my wife. My family has had a plot here for years and I plan on dying in it.” As Americans live longer and the dead decompose with less rapidity, individuals may have to consider alternative forms of burial such as Bury Share.