Cemeteries Are Dying Due To Cremations

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Two historic cemeteries in Colorado Springs face a troubled future -- and not because the death rate is slowing.

The problem for Evergreen and Fairview cemeteries is that more people are choosing cremation over burial. The trend is even stronger in El Paso County, which cemetery manager Will DeBoer says has one of the highest cremation rates nationwide.

In 2007, the last year for which statistics were available, 63 percent of the 3,345 people who died in the county were cremated. And only 10 percent of the cremated remains were taken to Evergreen and Fairview cemeteries.


Another looming threat is possible competition from a proposed national cemetery in the area that would offer free burial for veterans. DeBoer said the city's cemeteries could lose a third of their business.

"We sell a product no one wants to buy," DeBoer said. "Our business is flat, and for any business to be successful -- and this is a business -- it has to make money."

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/18773621/detail.html

The irony in the headline is heavy.