Services

Purchasing options

Single Plot

The most common type of plot in cemeteries is a single plot. A single plot contains the remains of one person in a single casket. 

Family Lot

Family lots are used for multiple people in the same family. You can customize the amount of space according to your needs. Four single plots occupy one lot. 

Companion Plots

A companion plot consists of two plots that are sold together, usually for a couple. A traditional companion plot comprises two plots side-by-side.

Family Sections

Family sections are similar to family lots in that they are purchased for the amount of space wanted for your family. Sections within Bethany Cemetery have 2, 4 or 8 lot options. Four plots occupy one lot.

OTHER OPTIONS & INFORMATION

Cremated Remains

Our cemetery allows for cremated remains to be buried within purchased plots. A limit to four urns may occupy one plot. Under special considerations may urns be buried with a deceased loved one.

Cenotaphs

A number of people today choose to donate their body to science, or to be cremated and have their remains scattered at a site of personal significance. However, it is still important to also leave some form of memorialization as a permanent record, and as a place for family and friends to visit in remembrance.

Cenotaphs are memorials placed with no interment. Bethany Cemetery allows these on any purchased plot. These memorials can take a variety of shapes and sizes, from traditional small markers, to custom boulders, angel statues, and benches. We are happy to work with you to create personal and unique options based on your preferences

Cleaning & Preservation

Most of us have visited cemeteries with headstones and markers covered with environmental grime and biological growth such as moss, lichens and mold. The grime and dirt can be removed with a proper cleaning, which will avoid causing any harm to the stone. Even though the markers are made of stone, most old markers are incredibly fragile. They suffer from “invisible’ stress cracks, delaminating layers of stone, and other age related issues.

Anyone desiring to clean the headstones and markers in a cemetery should get permission from a descendant or the Bethany Cemetery Association. It is not acceptable to take it upon yourself to clean the headstones without proper permissions, and without learning the correct methods or not using approved materials. You may however, clean your own family members’ stones.  

Bethany Cemetery hosts clean-up days 1-2 times each year that involves volunteers gathering together to make improvements and repairs to the cemetery and stones. We follow the “Do No Harm” standard of the Professional Cemetery Preservationists and Stone Conservators, and it is imperative that you perform your work to the same standard to keep our loved ones monuments lasting as long as possible.

Honoring our Veterans

Bethany Cemetery knows the importance of honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. We are in the planning stages of ensuring that American flags are placed on all Military Veteran graves for the Memorial Day Holiday at no additional cost to families.

Memorial Decorations

Honoring our loved ones with flowers and other gravestone decorations is something not out of the ordinary. We kindly and respectfully request that all decorations are tasteful and placed within 6 inches of the stone for ease of ground maintenance. Grave decorations will be removed once they appear to be worn or damaged and at the discretion of the groundskeeper and the Bethany Cemetery Association. Metal hanging rods and other similar decoration holders are permitted as long as they are within the 6 inch rule.

Bushes and trees are not allowed to be planted graveside without special permission from the board of directors. Perennial plants are allowed to be planted only on the sides of memorials and are expected to be maintained by the family. If perennials overgrow to cause a viewing obstruction of the stone they will be removed if attempts to reach the family to maintain are unsuccessful.

Green Burials

Bethany Cemetery Association is working to become a Green Burial Council certified cemetery.

Green burial is among the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient forms of interment. Unlike traditional burials, green burials avoid embalming, metal caskets, and burial vaults, which have become standard features for many funerals. Instead, green burial calls for a biodegradable cloth shroud or a simple casket made from renewable material such as pine, bamboo, or wicker.

Those considering green burial are often surprised to discover how engaging the process can be for the family and loved ones of the deceased. Green burial offers many opportunities for families to participate in a variety of steps throughout the burial process, such as lowering the body into the grave, and filling in the gravespace.  Though family participation is entirely optional, many families appreciate the intimacy such close involvement provides.

The Green Burial Council believes cemeteries, preserves, and burial grounds can broadly be considered green if they meet the following criteria: caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact that aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, protection of worker health, and the restoration and/or preservation of habitat. Green burial necessitates the use of non-toxic and biodegradable materials, such as caskets, shrouds, and urns. Learn more…

Genealogy Research

A cemetery is a place to grieve, honor, and remember, and to keep families linked through the generations with markers, records, and documents. There are few institutions better equipped for record keeping than cemeteries, and people frequently discover ancestors through their cemetery searches of family lots.

We understand that sometimes families are on a quest for more than names and burial dates.  As part of our volunteer services, Bethany Cemetery can offer assistance with genealogy and family history searches of our cemetery records.

At no extra cost those who are interred at Bethany Cemetery are recorded. Names, dates of birth and death, and other basic information will be permanently kept on record. We also submit information to findagrave.com (the world’s largest gravesite collection). This ensures that later generations have a starting place as they research their personal ancestry.

When searching for family history we recommend using the following sites online:

• Missouri Digital Heritage  
• Find A Grave
• Billion Graves
• Ancestry
• Pike County Missouri Genealogical Society

Visiting the Cemetery

The cemetery is open daily from dusk to dawn. We kindly ask that visitors only drive in a straight forward fashion when entering the cemetery and that the gate is properly closed upon departure. We are working to get the roads within the cemetery graveled for ease of visitors, and to deter people from driving where they shouldn’t. This is going to come with a large price tag so we are unsure when our account will reflect the funds needed to complete the project. Until this happens please be cautious when entering after heavy rainfall as vehicles may get stuck in the grass.

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