Cemetery Terminology

Cemetery property—A grave (space), space, crypt, niche or defined area for scattering cremated remains.

Cemetery Services—Opening and closing graves, crypts, or niches; setting grave liners and vaults, setting markers; and long-term maintenance of cemetery grounds and facilities.

Cemetery Maintenance Standards—establishes the minimum standards necessary to prevent the deterioration of an endowment care cemetery licensed by the Bureau. Cemeteries must provide consumers with a written copy of their maintenance standards upon request.

Cenotaph—A monument placed to honor people whose remains are interred elsewhere or whose remains cannot be recovered.

Columbarium—A structure with niches (spaces) for placement of cremation remains in urns or other approved containers. It may be outdoors or part of a mausoleum.

Cremation—Exposing human remains to extreme heat and flame and processing the bone fragments to a uniform size and consistency.

Crypt—A space in a mausoleum to hold cremated or whole human remains.

Disposition—The placement of cremated or whole human remains in their final resting place. A Permit for Disposition must be filed with the local registrar before a disposition can take place.

Endowment Care Fund—Money collected from cemetery property purchasers and placed into a trust for the maintenance and upkeep of the cemetery.

Entombment—Burial in a mausoleum

Funeral Ceremony—A service commemorating the deceased.

Funeral Services—Services provided by a funeral director coordinating with the cemetery, crematory, and other parties.

Grave– A space in the ground in a cemetery for the burial of human remains.

Grave Liner or Outer Container— Grave liners and other containers minimize the ground settling on cemetery grounds.

Graveside Service—A service to commemorate the deceased at the gravesite.

Interment— Interment is defined as burial in the ground, entombment in mausoleum, inurnment  in a niche, or scattering on the cemetery grounds in designated areas.

Interment rights—When you purchase any interment space from Bellevue, you are only purchasing the right to be interred in that place.

Inurnment—The placing of cremated remains in an urn followed by placement in a niche.

Mausoleum—A building in which human remains are interred (entombment).

Memorial Service —A ceremony commemorating the deceased at a time other than interment.

Niche—A space in a columbarium, mausoleum, or niche wall to hold an urn.

Private Cemetery– A cemetery regulated by the Bureau which is described as a burial park for earth interments or a mausoleum for crypt or vault interments and is owned and operated by a private corporation.

Urn—A container to hold cremated human remains. It can be placed in a columbarium or mausoleum, or it can be buried in the ground.

Vault—A grave liner that completely encloses a casket.

Bellevue Memorial Park is a private, California State licensed, non-profit cemetery, operating with a State required Endowment Care Fund. The fund provides for care and maintenance of the cemetery ensuring the beauty of the park is preserved for generations to come.