Interment & Engraving

To schedule interment, a request must be made by the family or the family’s contracted funeral home to the UVA Associate Director of Grounds in Facilities Management at Grounds@virginia.edu or 434-982-4668 or Facilities Management Finance at UVACemetery@virginia.edu or 434-924-1777.

1. The UVA Associate Director of Grounds will schedule and oversee preparations for both in-ground Plots and for the removal of the granite front panel and the opening and closing of an individual Columbarium Vault.
2. Interment fee schedules can be acquired from the funeral home the Purchaser or Licensee is contracting with and/or the UVA University’s Facilities Management Department.

Only human remains may be interred in the Cemetery, and only one body (single casket in a single vault) may be interred in a single Plot. Caskets are recommended to be entombed in burial vaults. Cremains will be allowed in a single Plot with no limit. Plot dimensions are 3' 6" W x 9' 6" L.

1. Monuments: Headstones, monuments and markers (cumulatively known as "Monuments") must be in accordance with the solemnity of the Cemetery.

• All Monument dimensions must be submitted for approval to the UVA Landscape Superintendent in Facilities Management or as guided in the Cemetery & Columbarium Manual.
• Only one Monument is allowed per Plot. One Monument may span two Plots.
• All Monuments must be placed on a concrete footer that is at least six inches longer and six inches wider than the base of the headstone, and at least fourteen inches in depth. In addition, the concrete footer must sit on at least four inches of gravel.

The Licensee may use the Columbarium Vault as a memorial instead of using it to inter ashes.

1. Urn(s): Each Columbarium Vault’s dimensions are 10 ¾" H x 10 ¾" W x 10 ¾" D and will potentially accept up to four urns depending on size of urn selected. Individuals are free to select any urn(s). To accommodate four urns, the recommended urn dimensions are 7" H x 5" W x 5" D.
    
2. Urn(s) Purchasing: May be obtained from any supplier or by contacting Mr. Stephen Christianson at Hill and Wood Funeral Service 434-296-6148, Mr. David Bashline at Teague Funeral Service 434-977-0005, or Mr. Martin Burks at J. F. Bell Funeral Home 434-295-9169.

Standardizations of engraving as approved by the Cemetery Committee are as follows:

1. It is recommended that only names and birth and death dates appear on the panels; however, any appropriate message may be selected by each Vault Licensee.
2. Each individual Columbarium Vault is covered by a 12 7/8" square granite panel. A 1" border must remain at all sides of the panel free of any engraving.
3. Names are to be in 1" tall letters. However, if the surname is to stand alone, it may be up to 1 1/2" tall. Dates are to be 3/4" in height. Both letters and dates must be in upper case, sandblast letter style. Dates may be abbreviated. Numerals are to be of Arabic style (not Roman numerals). Lettering smaller than 3/4" in height is illegible.
4. The existing texture (thermal) of the panel must not be changed, i.e., it must remain the background of the engraving.
5. No other materials such as bronze or brass plaques may be attached to the granite panels.
6. Coloring of the lettering or of any other portion of the granite panel with paint or any other medium is not allowed with the exception that the Cemetery Committee recommends asking engraver to use a dark gray shadow wash in the crevice of the letters to assist legibility when first engraved.
7. Should engraving need correcting, the cost of replacing any engraving and any panel(s) impacted, is to be the responsibility of the Licensee requesting the engraving correction, not the Cemetery Committee or the University of Virginia.
8. A template of the desired inscription must be submitted for approval to the Landscape Superintendent in Facilities Management. If the standard requirements are not met, that official will request review by the Cemetery Committee.
9. Pending approval of the template, the lettering will be sandblasted on the front panel. If the sandblasting is performed at the engraver's facility, a temporary panel will cover the vault while the granite panel is being engraved. Feel free to contact the UVA Landscape Superintendent in Facilities Management, Richard Hopkins 434-982-4668.

The Purchaser (Plot)/Licensee (Vault) is responsible for contracting with a vendor for engraving and is also responsible for the cost of the engraving. To ensure an appropriate memorial, it is important that lettering inscribed be uniform.

 

W.A. Hartman Memorial, 540-434-2573, 459 Noll Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22802 or Heritage Memorials, 800-296-7361, 8458 Seminole Trail #4, Ruckersville, VA 22968 and 3070 South Main Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22801. Also, feel free to contact the UVA Landscape Superintendent in Facilities Management, Richard Hopkins 434-982-4668.

 

It is recommended that all effort must be given to maintain the dignity of the Cemetery and the Columbarium Walls.  Floral arrangements – fresh or artificial – are permitted if placed in containers that are secured to the Monument such that they will not be blown or otherwise easily removed from the gravesite by the elements or by routine maintenance.  Fresh flowers and perishable decorations should be disposed of within two weeks.  The University retains the right, in its sole discretion, to dispose of flowers or ornaments as needed.  No permanent plantings are allowed in the Cemetery.