Bob CollinsThere’s just no future in cemeteries. Just ask funeral home owner Bill McReavy, who’s trying to unload Crystal Lake Cemetery in north Minneapolis, KARE 11 reports.
He’s lost $300,000 in each of the last three years and he’s trying to give it to the city.
“It’s never going to make money,” he says.
The issue provides insight into the effects of a changing culture. We don’t want to be buried anymore.
The number of people being cremated will increase to about two of every three this year.
Insert obvious joke about a dying business here.
To make money, cemeteries need people to buy plots before they die. But even people who still want to be planted, aren’t sure they want to be planted here.
“Today of course people are living until they 80, 90 even 100 years of age. So what happens is they are a little apprehensive of where are we going to be living and are we still going to be in Minneapolis? Or not? Boy I don’t know if I should buy cemetery lots or not because I’m not positive I’m going to be living here,” McReavy said, according to KARE.
McReavy’s beef also has something to do with the way cities here pay for road improvements, by assessing the neighbors for a portion of it.
KARE says a lot of cemeteries in Minnesota are in the same boat, leading to the question of what’s going to happen to existing cemeteries in the future if they’re not making any money?
Minneapolis officials aren’t likely to bite on McReavy’s offer, KARE says.
Related: Urn with Prince’s ashes still in the building, ‘just not on display’ at Paisley Park (Star Tribune)
