Burial Options

Purchasing a burial space
at Saint John's Abbey Cemetery

Our pre-planning staff will work with you to help with the details of your cemetery arrangements. This is done by listening to and answering all your questions, and walking with you through every step of the process at your own comfort level.

Rest assured that the “Permanent Care Cemetery Endowment” ensures fifteen percent of each purchase will be set aside in a cemetery endowment fund to ensure its permanent care.

Decisions to be made

  • Cremation burial or traditional? Saint John’s Abbey Cemetery offers a variety of caskets, coffins, urns, wooden crosses, and other items produced by the Saint John’s Abbey Woodworking Shop.  

  • Location? The Cemetery Office will provide a map of locations for traditional burial and cremation.

    • Traditional:  A lot or lots nearer the lake, under a tree, near a bench, estate lot options, next to friends?

    • Cremation Wall:  Courtyard or Hillside?  A special numbered niche to recognize an important date? Next to the bench, on a corner, near friends?

  • Number of spaces needed?

  • Payment plan that best meets your needs.

Traditional
In-ground Burial

The Traditional sections of the Saint John’s Alumni and Friends Cemetery all offer a panoramic view of the surrounding woods and face the eastern shore of Lake Sagatagan. Single, double, and estate are available.

Single Lots (one burial)

Created for one traditional burial or up to two cremation ground interments. It is designed to be marked by a slant-style headstone.

Double-lawn Lots (two burials)

These are side-by-side ground lots for two individuals who will be memorialized with one shared headstone. The cemetery committee has approved granite headstones in specific sizes and colors for these shared lots.

Estate Lots

The Estate monuments are designed to match the rest of the cemetery stones while offering a more prominent headstone for memorialization.

Cremation Options

Above-ground cremation niches

Hillside Columbarium

The Hillside columbarium is a unit of wall niches for the placement of urns.  This above-ground wall is built of dark grey granite panels with light grey top and borders. All spaces in the current Hillside Columbarium wall have been purchased. Another Hillside wall will be built by spring 2025.  In the meantime, spaces are available in the Courtyard Columbarium (See below.)

Courtyard Columbarium

Three courtyard columbarium walls offer niches for urn placement. These above-ground wall units are surrounded by oak trees, shrubs, and flowers, with benches on each side of the walls. The light grey top and borders complement the dark grey granite panels. 

Columbarium Burials

Each niche in the columbarium walls has space for one or two urns.  Pricing varies based on the location in the wall and the number of individuals purchasing the one space. The inside dimension of all niches (single or double) measures 11” x 11” x 15”. 

In-ground burial – Cremated remains

Cremation estate lots – The 24 cremation estate lots have been designed for in-ground burial of cremated remains.  Each estate offers 1 or 2 burial interment rights with exceptional landscaping, tree (s), hedges, and a nearby bench for these estates. The headstone is included with the cremation estate lot purchase.  

Headstones &
Monuments

Available through Saint John's Abbey Cemetery Office

Saint John’s Abbey Cemetery can assist you with your headstone order, from concept and design to engraving and installation on your lot.  

  •  Granite headstones - various sizes to meet the cemetery’s specific requirements

  •  A variety of granite colors

  •  Choice of fonts and text styles

  •  Double-processed engraved artwork

  •  Engraving on the front and back of stone offered

  •  Computerized designs of your layout, edited until it meets your final  approval

  •  Placing a headstone in advance of need is both appropriate and encouraged 

Why Granite?

Granite is a natural stone that is long-lasting and beautiful. It comes in four primary color categories: red, black, brown, and gray. We have chosen 12 specific granites—three variations of each major color scheme. Our choices were selected to provide a blend of colors and types of granite to create a harmonious look for our cemetery.

Other choices include cutting the top of the monument (either a flat, oval, or serpentine style to the top of the headstone).  The “finish” is also your choice– you may have an all-polished stone or a honed (matte) finish, and you may even leave some or all of the edges in the natural rock cut.   

The Saint John’s Abbey Cemetery staff can show you actual granite samples, discuss the options, and provide additional information.