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Park City expands cemetery options with cremation garden

The new creation garden at Park City Cemetery
Courtesy of Park City
The new creation garden at Park City Cemetery

There are about 4,000 grave sites in the Park City Cemetery, and nearly all of them are taken. The city added room for 100 more interments in a “cremation garden.”

More information about qualifications and pricing is available at parkcity.org/departments/cemetery

The Park City Cemetery began its life in 1892 when the Snyder family sold to the city a handful of acres north of what is now Kearns Avenue. According to Park City, the cemetery expanded in 1933 and again after the city allocated money for the project in 1991.

But Cemetery Sexton Heather Todd said nearly all of the 4,000 grave sites are taken and further expansion is challenging. So the city opted for an alternative solution and is adding room for 100 interments in what it’s calling a cremation garden.

Stone benches, boulders and markers are tucked amid meandering paths and trees near the hillside bounding the northern edge of the cemetery.

Todd said she already had two appointments the morning of May 24 when sales officially began.

The interment sites are limited to qualified residents who have immediate need. That means people who were born in Park City Miner’s Hospital or who have lived in Park City for 10 years or more. Todd said a terrible part of her job is having to turn away Summit County residents who live outside the Park City boundaries.

Those seeking an interment spot also must have experienced a death in the family and need traditional burial space.

The cremated remains would be placed inside the stone markers, which have places for engraved plaques. Todd described the garden as a peaceful gathering place for the cemetery with room for people to sit and visit. She hopes the spots will remain available for a few years.