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Even in death, high cost an issue

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By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer Updated 11:08 AM Sunday, November 1, 2009

Nothing is certain but death and taxes, and both will cost you.

At Millville Cemetery in Hanover Twp., sexton John Goldsberry is laying the three-foot foundation for a headstone he recently received for a grave plot. It’s been almost a year since the deceased was buried, but it took that long for the family to save up with the money for a marker.

“It can be expensive,” Goldsberry said as he smoothed the cement box that will prevent the monument from sinking into the mud once it is placed on top. “Right now there are people who just can’t afford it.”

The cost can be staggering: $2,500 for a headstone and $700 for a flat marker. That’s on top of the $7,323 for the average funeral, which includes fees for items such as the transfer of the remains, use of facilities for services, hearse and casket, according to the National Funeral Directors Association.

For some, it’s too much of a squeeze on finances already stretched to the limit by current economic pressures. That’s why experts say nationally, the number of cremations is on the rise — up to 34.89 percent says the NFDA — as the price for one is about half at $3,000, and the use of a cemetery plot is several hundreds of dollars cheaper since not as much ground has to be opened.

Goldsberry said people have been known to come to the cemetery carrying a loved one’s cremated remains in a cardboard box, being left with no money for another container for burial. “I’ll seal it with concrete for them,” he said. “Sometimes, even here, it’s all about cost.”

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It is a shame how much it cost to run an obituary, some towns do it as a public service.
The cost of a funeral is terribly high but when a family is faced with death something has to be done. I used to think burial was for me but if I die cremation is the way I will go. It is cheaper and when you die , you die.
I did see a news story that said walmart is now going to sell caskets and urns shipped within 48 hours and you can also buy them at overstock.com. wow
Times change.
Times are changing

walmartshopper
6:38 PM, 11/1/2009

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I am surprised the Journal ran this article. It too is part of the problem. They (and other companies) take the most vulnerable time of families lives and rob them. I can run a for sale ad in this very paper for next to nothing. I ran a one day obituary ad for more than $200.00. Shame on you Journal. Hopefully when the decision makers lose someone close to them they will come into contact with people who are compassionate and actually care about the loss. Shame on you...all of you.

The Journal Included
10:59 AM, 11/1/2009

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This is such BS!! This is nothing but Society and Funeral business pushing old fashioned tradition as something important. Pay thousands for a box and a marker. For what? 20-40 years no one will care. What crap. Cremate, scatter the ashes, done. If someone poor is too stupid to see that, I have no sympathy. Most religions teach the body only contains the Spirit during life. In death, no one should care about the body. Cremate.

Thomas
10:46 AM, 11/1/2009

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One of the biggest funeral ripoffs is what the newspapers charge to run a decent obituary. (hundreds) It is outrageous that they can charge so much that the family is reduced to cutting the obit just to save some bucks to pay the 800 plus the cemetary charges to open and close the grave that u paid for. It truly is a gouging profession that gets u in your time of despair.

noramears
9:06 AM, 11/1/2009

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It's a sad fact that after all the costs of illness and extended disability, a funeral can be beyond means. What the hell do you do? You go in debt. When my mother died, I found she hadn't finished paying for my little brother's funeral. I had given her the money to pay for it but I guess she thought she needed it. I had to pay both hers and his. That just sucked.

Jeffrey John Hodapp
3:22 AM, 11/1/2009

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