Cemeteries

Chesley Cemetery

4th Street

Lots S & P, Plan 149

Town of Chesley

Paisley Cemetery

1300 Bruce County Rd 11

Lot 15, Concession B

former Township of Elderslie

St. Andrews Cemetery

289 Con 4

Lot 23, Concession 4

former Township of Elderslie

Hillcrest Cemetery, Tara

3959 Bruce Rd 10

Lot 30, Concession 9 & 10

former Township of Arran

Salem Presbyterian Cemetery

872 Concession 10 Elderslie

Lots 14 & 15, 872

former Township of Elderslie

Invermay Methodist Cemetery

56 Bruce Rd 17

Lot 29, Concession 7

former Township of Arran

Elsinore Cemetery

Lot 14, Concession 13

former Township of Arran

Henderson Cemetery

438 Bruce Rd 17

Lot 21, Concession 7

former Township of Arran

Mausette Cemetery

Lot 32, Concession 6

former Township of Arran

Orange Cemetery

Lot 16, Concession 7

former Township of Arran

Rusk's Cemetery

612-814 Side Rd 5 Elderslie

Lots 6, Concession 10

former Township of Elderslie

Vesta United Church Cemetery

Lot 15, Concession 1

former Township of Elderslie

Peaceful spaces rich with history, the Municipality’s inactive cemeteries are good places for genealogical studies or a quiet spot to memorialize.

An interment right is not the purchase of land. It is the purchase of the right to decide who may be buried or interred in a specific grave, lot, or niche. The cemetery always retains ownership of the land.

To arrange an interment, the following documentation is required;

• Original Burial Permit or Original Cremation Certificate
• Completed Direction to Inter Form
• Payment of Applicable Fees
  
  
  

Consent from Interment Rights Holder

For an interment to take place, consent is required from the interment rights holder. Interment rights refers to the right to bury human remains in a grave or niche. If you are named on the interment rights certificate, you are the interment rights holder and require the right to request a burial, place a decoration, have a marker or monument installed, as long as you follow the cemetery’s by-laws.

There are many family plots in the cemetery and have been in the family for generations.  The greater the generational gap between the original “interment rights holders” and those wishing to be buried in the plot, the more complicated obtaining proper permission can become.  It is not unusual to require ten to twenty signatures in order to permit a burial. 

Who has the legal authority to make the decision of who can be buried in a family grave?

Here is a partial list of who may act as the legal representative:

1. Estate trustee, also called an executor or executrix, who is named in the will (or an administrator appointed by the court)
2. Spouse
3. Adult children (18 and over). 

Ontario has statutes and common law to determine who may act as the legal representative(s) when a person passes away without a valid will. The ultimate decision maker will be specific to the circumstances of each case but will generally default to a court-appointed Estate Administrator or the deceased’s next of kin. 

Because every estate is different, the person with final legal authority will depend on the facts of each case. Cemetery Staff will require supporting documentation – such as a will, certificate of appointment, or other proof of authority before permitting an interment or transfer of interment rights. The Municipality does not determine who holds the interment rights.

You can see our Cemetery By-Law for more information.

A single in ground grave has the capacity for 1 traditional casket burial, and 4 cremation burials. A columbarium niche has capacity for 2 individuals’ cremated remains.

The interment rights holders are able to reserve a spot in a grave for a specific individual. Please contact the clerk's department for further details.

Please see our Cemetery Rates above for reference.

The interment fee covers the cost of opening and closing of the gravesite for a burial or the opening and closing of a Niche in the Columbarium.

The Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act requires that every cemetery operator who sells, assigns or transfers interment rights or scattering rights or who permits the interment of human remains or the scattering of cremated remains in the cemetery have a care and maintenance fund.

Care and Maintenance, formerly known as Perpetual Care, contributions became mandatory in Ontario in 1955. A percentage of Interment Rights purchased is put into the Care & Maintenance Trust Fund. The Cemetery can use the interest off this fund to help maintain the Cemetery forever. Regular Care & Maintenance activities include: cutting grass, leveling graves, planting and caring for trees, snow removal, and maintenance of water supply systems, roads and drainage.

For graves, markers and monuments sold prior to 1955, if no contributions for Care and Maintenance were collected, Care and Maintenance may be charged at the current price list rate.

Please refer to the Cemetery By-law for more information. Contact the Clerk’s Department to confirm.

While the use of a vault or outer liner is recommended, it is not required, unless the Medical Officer of Health deems it necessary.

• Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
• No interments take place on Sundays or Statutory Holidays

The Municipality shall be given at least 2 business days notice for each interment.