Walnut Grove Cemetery Announces New Improvements Including Danvers’ First Columbarium Garden

DANVERS, Mass. November 4, 2013

Walnut Grove Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in Danvers, recently announced the addition of a Columbarium Garden which is the first of its kind in Danvers. With the rising number of cremations being at 40% nationwide, the cemetery’s board of trustees invested in three columbarium monuments as part of the cemetery’s long-range improvement plan to serve the community. A columbarium is a term frequently used to describe the permanent resting place for cremated remains.

As a non-denominational, non-profit cemetery, Walnut Grove Cemetery welcomes all
people. With the recent addition of the Columbarium Garden, the cemetery now offers the public all available options including traditional burial plots, cremation plots and now niches in the columbaria. The landscaped Columbarium Garden consists of three stone monuments featuring 96 niches that can accommodate two urns per niche.

In addition to the Columbarium Garden, Walnut Grove redesigned its logo and incorporated the words “honor, cherish, reflect.” Additionally, the cemetery has a new website which went live with an emphasis on more user-friendly navigation and more content focused on cremation, columbaria and the importance of pre-planning. With the aging of Baby Boomers, it is common to avoid the inevitable and to not pre-plan one’s final wishes. It is the goal of the trustees to assist people in addressing the importance of pre-planning by educating people of their options and assisting them in documenting their wishes. For the history-minded visitors, the website offers an extensive history section as well as an invaluable tool called the “Grave Locator System” with its 160 years of digitized cemetery records to assist genealogists in finding relatives and friends.

“Walnut Grove Cemetery is an integral part of the Danvers community and it is the commitment of the trustees to maintain its beauty and offer our residents a full range of services,” said Edward (Bud) Holden, the president of the Trustees. “These investments preserve the role of the cemetery in honoring our nation’s history as this cemetery includes heroes serving our country dating as far back as the War of 1812. We owe it to our ancestors and our future generations to continuously restore and preserve Danvers’ original rural cemetery.”

Located in the heart of Danvers, Walnut Grove Cemetery is continuously working on preserving the more than 20 acres of its beautiful and historic grounds for the countless generations that have come to depend upon this sanctuary for the past 170 years. Governed by an all-volunteer board with deeps roots in the community, Walnut Grove is committed to maintaining its heritage and integrity through sound financial management. In addition to Edward (Bud) Holden, the president of the trustees, the board includes Nicholas Cameles, Glenn Dagley, Daniel J. Mahoney, William P. O’Neil, Donald Tutko, John Storm, Dick Wallace, and Peter Yetman.

Walnut Grove has a caring and experienced staff that can help with any pre-planning arrangements and will also outline the financial pre-planning savings. To schedule an appointment please call 978.774.1024 or email the cemetery at info@walnutgrovedanvers.org.