Cremation – Urn, Memorial and Scattering Options
Lakewood offers many beautiful options for permanent memorialization, providing a comforting place for friends and loved ones to return to. Memorialization of cremated remains includes above-ground niche spaces in a columbarium wall, traditional graves for urn burial, and cremorial plots in our Garden of Remembrance.
If your loved one’s ashes have been scattered or buried elsewhere, a permanent memorial plaque at Lakewood allows you to grieve the loss and extend the memory and connection with a physical reminder of your loved one.
All of Lakewood’s memorial options include a permanent listing on our website’s searchable public database, with a picture, biography/obituary, and maps showing the memorial’s location.
On this page: Urn | Scattering Options | Witness a Cremation | FAQs
Urn Options
Niches
A niche is a designated space for cremation urns within a columbarium wall. Lakewood offers a diverse array of elegant options, both indoors and outdoors.
Costs range from $7,995 – $13,995 depending on location.
Most niches are designed and priced for two people but can be used for one. The cost of the niche includes engraving on a marble or granite cover. Requirements regarding the size and material of urns depend on the space that is selected.
There will be an additional interment charge for each urn when it is placed in a niche at the time of need.
Our knowledgeable Family Services team can help you understand all the options and costs when choosing a niche.
Traditional Grave
If you prefer the timeless beauty of an outdoor site, consider choosing a traditional grave site. Like caskets, cremation urns can also be buried in a grave. You can choose from many tranquil spots throughout our vast 250-acre, park-like grounds.
Grave prices depend on the site selected. Each grave space offers the flexibility to customize a flat marker for an additional cost. Although Lakewood must approve the final style design, these markers allow for the most personalization of any memorials at Lakewood. All burials will incur an interment charge at the time of need.
Our knowledgeable Family Services team can help you understand all the options and costs when choosing a traditional grave.
Garden of Remembrance (Cremorials)
Lakewood’s serene Garden of Remembrance offers a blend between a traditional grave and a niche, in a setting that showcases Lakewood’s natural beauty.
Cremorials $9,995+
Most cremorials are designed and priced for two people but can be used for one. These serene spaces offer a small plot in the ground that can hold up to two cremation urns in an underground, pre-installed granite burial container. A tasteful, standardized bronze marker tops the memorial and can be personalized with up to two names and dates. Additional words or emblems may be added, space permitting (additional charges may apply). Cremorials in the Garden of Remembrance provide abundant flexibility in urn choice (excluding wood).
At the time of need there will be an additional interment charge for each urn.
Our knowledgeable Family Services team can help you understand all the options and costs when choosing a cremorial.
Scattering Options
Waterside Scattering
The serene Waterside Pier on our private lake offers a beautiful, communal setting for a scattering ceremony. Gather with loved ones for a personalized service with opportunities for family participation and moments of quiet reflection. The ceremony includes the service and scattering ashes in the lake or along the lakeshore.
Cost: The ceremony, including the scattering, costs $1,495 on weekdays and $1,995 on Saturdays.
The waterside setting offers guest chairs and a table arranged under a protective tent. The terrace seats 12 and can comfortably accommodate up to 25 people. The pier can hold 10 to 12 people at a time.
A Lakewood staff member will be present throughout the ceremony to assist your family.
Our knowledgeable Family Services team can help you understand all the options and costs when choosing a waterside scattering.
Graveside Scattering
Scattering ashes at a gravesite is a beautiful way to honor a loved one and provide a place for family and friends to gather together to remember. Lakewood’s extraordinary grounds offer numerous unique spaces, ensuring there is always a place for loved ones to visit and return to.
Our knowledgeable Family Services team can help you understand all the options and costs when choosing a graveside scattering.
Cremation and Cremation Witnessing
Lakewood operates a crematory on its grounds and offers families the option to have a cremation take place at Lakewood.
Adjacent to the crematory is a dedicated space with a viewing and sitting room for intimate ceremonies. Families and loved ones can gather just outside the crematory for a cremation witness, offering an opportunity for connection in the final moments in the presence of a loved one. Those present will see the casket enter the cremation chamber, similar to seeing a casket being lowered.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cremation
Choosing cremation can seem like a simple choice, but there are decisions to make. As the popularity of cremation has increased, crematory and funeral home laws have evolved and your choices for places of remembrance have expanded. We can help guide you through the process. Our FAQs below can answer some initial questions. Our knowledgeable Family Services team can help you understand all the options and costs when choosing cremation
To schedule a private appointment, send us an email or call us at 612-822-2171.
Can I arrange for cremation directly with Lakewood?
While we can help facilitate the process, Minnesota law requires that services such as transporting the body of a deceased person, filing legal paperwork and removal of certain devices (such as pacemakers) must be handled by a licensed funeral director working for a licensed funeral establishment. Lakewood is licensed as a crematory and a cemetery, but not as a funeral establishment. Because of this, we work closely with local funeral directors to make these arrangements.
Can you recommend a funeral home?
We have relationships with many local funeral homes. However, we do not affiliate with a specific funeral home or have preferred funeral directors. Any funeral director is welcome to work with us to coordinate a cremation at Lakewood.
Can I pre-plan for the use of Lakewood’s crematory?
Yes, your funeral director can help you make arrangements to ensure a loved one’s body is brought to Lakewood for cremation.
Can my family and friends witness the cremation?
Yes, Lakewood’s crematory has a comfortable viewing area if you or your family want to witness the start of the cremation and have final moments together. (Note that there are limitations on the number of attendees due to the size of the space.)
How much will this cost?
Unfortunately that’s difficult to predict without knowing what types of arrangements you plan to make. You can review our Price List as a guide, or reach out to us and we can help you make decisions that meet your needs and fit your budget.
Schedule an introductory meeting at the Welcome Center.
Interested in learning more about memorialization at Lakewood? Schedule a meeting with a Lakewood Family Services team member in our beautiful new Welcome Center to go over all the creative ways you can memorialize yourself or a loved one.
Send us an email or call us at 612-822-2171.