RACING DOWN the RIVER -Brief Genealogical Notes

Cemeteries are the newest wedding sites...


As genealogists we have spent a lot of time in cemeteries, what do you think of this idea?

BROOKFIELD, Wis. - Cemeteries such as the Wisconsin
Memorial Park in Brookfield, Wis., have begun hosting
weddings as part of a new service trend, industry officials
say. Stewart Enterprises Inc. spokeswoman Denise Wester-
field, whose company operates the Brookfield cemetery, said
funeral homes make an ideal wedding site given the changing
perception of death in society, the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel reported Wednesday. "Funerals are becoming much
more a celebration of life than a dark event, so why not
have your wedding at a funeral home?" Westerfield said.
Jessica Koth, National Funeral Directors Association spokes-
woman, said a growing number of cemeteries and funeral
homes have begun expanding their businesses to include
everything from weddings to bar mitzvahs. "It's something
that more and more funeral homes are looking at, whether
they're remodeling existing facilities or building new
additions," Koth told the Journal Sentinel.

-Submitted by Don Counts