"Memorial Markers"

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I was talking with some employees of a local cemetery a few days ago and the conversation turned to people saying that they know that a person is buried in the cemetery because there is a tombstone on their grave... yet there is no burial record available for this person! This may be a "memorial marker" to remember the person at this cemetery, even though, they may be buried elsewhere. Many times this occurs because a spouse dies and a marker is erected for both the deceased and the surviving spouse, but the surviving spouse ends up marrying another time and is buried with the 2nd. spouse somewhere else. Other times a grave and marker are bought early in life and the individual moves away and forgets about the grave & marker. Other times the family will have a marker made to be put in the cemetery with the rest of the family, but the person died elsewhere and is lost or buried far away. Many drownings or soldiers who die in wartime are often not found, but the family will place a marker in the local cemetery to remember them. One other possibility is cremations of the deceased that are not buried in the existing lot that happens to have a marker or one is erected to remember them and the cremains are not buried there.

Perhaps there are many other situations that a person will not be buried where there marker exists. Can anyone suggest other possibilities?

- Written by JGWest