Cremated remains find new resting place at Atlanta cemetery
Cremated remains find new resting place at Atlanta cemetery Lincoln Cemetery is offering free interment of ashes on Oct. 17, the inaugural National Cremation Placement Day
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — More than one in four households has the cremated remains of a loved one at home, according to the Cremation Association of North America (CANA).
As cremains are passed down through generations, some families are left wondering what to do with them. The issue is affecting families across the country, including in metro Atlanta.
For Sandy Johnson, the issue is personal.
When her uncle, Jerome Stroud, died in 2023, he was cremated. Three years later, Johnson said his cremains are still at the home of her aunt, Bernice.
“She lives alone now and if something happened to her, we wouldn’t want them to be at Goodwill or in the closet and somebody stumble upon them or anything,” Johnson said.
Shayda Frost, owner of Lincoln Cemetery in west Atlanta, said Johnson’s concern is valid. She said there are more than 600,000 households in metro Atlanta with cremains at home.
“Multi-generationally, you’re gonna have people inherit cremains. You’re gonna have people inherit these ashes and there will come a time when the question becomes, do I feel comfortable keeping this,” Frost said.
Frost said another issue is that some families leave cremains at funeral homes for years. She showed dozens of cremains currently at Lincoln Cemetery that are still waiting to be claimed.
“Every single funeral home in the U.S. has some unclaimed remains and I think that’s truly where the tragedy is,” Frost said.
The issue has grown enough across the country that a day has been established to bring awareness to the issue.
Oct. 17 will mark the inaugural National Cremation Placement Day. Cemeteries across the country are offering free interment, including Lincoln Cemetery.
At Lincoln Cemetery, Frost said the cemetery will provide a communal niche space with room for about 50 cremains.
“We’re doing a communal niche space for them. It will be about room for about 50. It’s free placement,” Frost said.
Johnson said she is excited to bring her uncle Jerome to Lincoln Cemetery and finally give him a place to rest in peace.
“Having that place to visit, that final resting spot, it serves as a place to experience something with them, to visit them and to honor them,” Frost said.
A ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17, at 10 a.m. at Lincoln Cemetery in west Atlanta before the cremains are interred. For more information, call (404) 792-2220 or email info@lincolnmemorialgroup.com.
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