Garden of Remembrance and Ossuary

GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE NICHE WALL

Nestled near the heart of the cemetery, this final resting place is set into an embankment accented with flowering topiary planters. The concept of this division began in the mid-1980s as cremation was gaining popularity. The initial 96-niche wall concept has transformed into an 800-niche embankment. Because each niche space is designed to hold 2 urns, this area will eventually provide permanent memorialization and urn placement for at least 1600 people.

A limited inventory of in-ground lawn niche spaces are available in the grassy area leading up to the wall. A lawn niche is approximately a  4’ x 4’ in-ground space which includes room for two cremation urn placements, opening and closing fees (M-F), and a shared 2’x1’ flat grave marker. Grave marker selections in all lawn niche areas are comprised of color(s) that complement the columbaria.

THE OSSUARY AT ROSELAWN CEMETERY

In 2007 the leadership team at Roselawn Cemetery accepted a proposal from artist and sculptor, Nicholas Legeros, to create a sculptural ossuary. This work of art and place of rest, titled The Orpheus Experience, rests in front of the upper level of the Garden of Remembrance Niche Wall. The sculpture is a sphere, two-feet in diameter, cast in bronze and rotates to reveal an opening in the cylindrical pedestal base. At the time of interment, cremated remains are deposited through the opening into an underground chamber. To reach the ossuary, one must travel along the spiraling walkway to the bronze sphere. This pathway is lined with blocks made of Carnelian granite that serve as epitaphs for those choosing to be permanently memorialized in the Ossuary at Roselawn Cemetery. Once one reaches the sculpture, they will find a the bronze sphere with molds of handprints in various shapes and sizes. This is such an integral and meaningful piece of this work of art, as ossuary placement is meant to be a community of co-mingled cremated remains. While the common practice of resting one’s hand on a monument or grave marker is void in the ossuary experience, one can most certainly find a handprint in which their own can rest as a place of connection and comfort to their loved ones interred below.

The Orpheus Experience… Myth has long served as a powerful metaphor for human experience. In the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Eurydice dies shortly after her marriage to Orpheus and he mourns her in song. Even Hades is moved by his music and allows Orpheus to lead Eurydice from the underworld on the condition that he not look back as they ascend. In a moment of anxiety, Orpheus turns to see if Eurydice is still following him and per the condition, loses her forever. Like Orpheus, we take this journey along the spiraling walkway to the final resting place of many. We touch the sculpted sphere searching for a hand that fits ours and we may see our own reflection in the surface of the sphere. At that moment, we may find ourselves understanding that the memory of our loved ones is still alive and something we carry within ourselves.