(Posted May 31, 2023)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
To meet demand, the Darby Township trustees recently installed three columbariums at Forest Grove Cemetery.
A columbarium is an above-ground structure that serves as the final resting place for ashes after cremation. The structure is made up of individual compartments known as niches. Each niche holds a funerary urn.
The columbariums at Forest Grove Cemetery were installed on a concrete pad near the cemetery office on May 19. Each contains 48 niches.
“More and more people are going that direction, doing cremations. We’ve had people ask us about columbariums,” said Trustee Klaas Friesen.
The cemetery buries funerary urns in regular grave plots. The columbariums give individuals who choose cremation another option, Friesen said.
The trustees spent $10,000 to pour the concrete pad and a little over $30,000 to purchase and install the columbariums. They covered the entire cost with federal money they received to make improvements at the cemetery.
Another project in the works is construction of an open-sided shelter near the columbarium site to be used for services and for shelter during bad weather.
The trustees plan to set the cost to purchase a niche at their meeting on June 5. The trustees are Friesen, Myron Mast, and Roger Weeks.
Anyone interested in more information can contact the cemetery office at (614) 873-5618, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The cemetery is located at 8270 Cemetery Pike, Plain City.
