For over 175 years, Greenwood Union Cemetery has provided families of all faiths and cultures with beautiful memorial grounds.
For over 175 years, Greenwood Union Cemetery has provided families of all faiths and cultures with beautiful memorial grounds. This month, they invited special guests to see their newly refurbished offices and the non-denominational chapel, which can be used for memorial celebrations.
“We have a long tradition of offering good care to families,” said Executive Director Bill Lane. “But we needed a place for families to sit and chat and feel comfortable while making lasting decisions.” Architect Rex Gedney, a trustee, was engaged to redesign the offices. Interior designer Tara Grossman helped with the furnishings. Gedney went to great lengths creating a new front desk to match the Arts & Crafts bookcase that’s been in the office for a century. For a fireside chat, you couldn’t do much better than the comfortable reception room they’ve created off the office.
With 300 burials a year and that number expected to grow, the Greenwood Union trustees have also decided to open up the older parts of the cemetery and expand the footprint.
“We are trying to meet 21st-century needs,” said Lane. “But there will always be places for quiet reflection along with a variety of traditional plots and mausoleum space.”
While most people don’t plan ahead when it comes to funerals and burials, the Greenwood Union office is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The well-kept grounds are open daily. A walk through them is a walk through history — religious, military, African-American, and more.
