How is a casket is lowered into the grave in a conventional cemetery burial? Watch this video.

A team of two workers for the cemetery remove the supports under the casket, allowing the weight of the casket to be supported by the green lowering straps. The metal framework around the grave has poles that rotate, allowing the straps to extend downward, lowering the casket into the grave.

Once the casket touches the earth, the straps are pulled out from underneath and rewound on the poles. The team removes the metal framework before the completion of the funeral service.

This example is typical of burial in a conventional cemetery. In a green burial, often individuals with hand-held ropes or straps lower biodegradable caskets into a shallower grave in a green or hybrid cemetery. There is often more hands-on involvement by the family in a green burial setting.

Do Your Homework

The functions of the funeral home and funeral director are separate from the work of the cemetery. Very often, a funeral and burial are done by two separate companies. Many folks who choose burial don’t know that both the funeral home and the cemetery will charge separately for their services, and the total can add up to much more than a family anticipates.

Visit this blog post for a free checklist of 20 questions to have answered BEFORE a loved one dies. You’ll find this makes a tough job much easier, not if but when there’s a death in the family.

If you want to make a funeral or memorial service truly memorable, use a Certified Funeral Celebrant. If you live in New Mexico, check out Gail Rubin’s Celebrant Page for examples of personalized memorial services. Gail trained through the InSight Institute’s Celebrant Program and has conducted numerous memorial services and funerals.

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