I will start off my saying that if there is any way to avoid this cemetery, do so. I am a rabbi, and my family has had a presence at Cedar Park beginning with both sets of grandparents. Keep in mind as tyou read this that I have served as rabbi at many funerals in the Washington, DC area, and have experienced the exact opposite of what I did on the day of my mother's funeral.
I recently buried my mother at Cedar Park. Words cannot adequately describe the lack of chesed - kindness- shown to us. I begin with our arrival on the day of burial. To not be greeted by a representative is puzzling, especially consisering that the office resembles walking into a large department store customer service department.
When we arrived at the gravesite, I found that 2 large boxes had been placed inside the grave. I understand all too well the pratice of using a grave as a geniza to bury siddurim and the like that are no longer usable. But we were never asked if it was OK with us. That is a lack of kindness. Then when my mother's casket was placed on the tope of the grave with poles to hold them, the rep asked if we would like the casket to be lowered right away or if we weanted itt o remain up. I said that we wanted it to be up. "How long willt he service be?" he asked. "Perhaps 20 minutes 1/2 or longer, I don't know" I replied. "Oh, the poles won't hold it that long" I was told, "we'll have to lower it now". I was aghast. My mother wighed no more than 85 pounds. If they do not have the apparatus to hold the casket for more than 20 minutes for her, under what circumstances would the casket NOT be lowered? Their offering me a choice was no choice as all. Next, and perhaps the most aggregious, us that after our service we all wanted to linger to visit the other graves of our family. Almost immediately a rep told us that we needed to move out of the way, because the bulldozer was coming to fill in the grave. I was shocked that we were not given a moment of reprieve. A large bulldozer soon appeared and began the process of filling the grave. So while we all stood by, a construction site size tractor moved in and filled in the grave.
When I shared all this with my contact at a cemetery that often calls me, he called it "unconscionable". I pray that this review will stir the cemetery to look at their practice, and begin to treat it less as a business and more as a service. If I could have given it no stars, I would have. read more