A Century and a Half of History in Junction City, Oregon
IN THE COMPANY OF OREGON PIONEERS AND FOUNDING FAMILIES
Rest Lawn Memorial Park is a 14.35 acre cemetery, located 4.5 miles west of Junction City, Oregon, one half mile north of High Pass Road on Territorial Highway, just southwest of Cox Butte. The first burial was in 1868, with 145 individuals interred there prior to 1900. For much of the 1900's the cemetery was owned and operated by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), Oasis Lodge #42 of Junction City.
MANY NAMES, SAME PLACE
The cemetery has had a number of names over the years, including the Barrow Cemetery, the Bear Creek Cemetery, Cox Butte Cemetery, IOOF Junction City Cemetery, Long Tom Cemetery, Mahon Cemetery, and Oasis Lodge #42 IOOF Cemetery. In the mid to late 1960's, the cemetery became privately owned and the name was changed to Rest Lawn Memorial Park.
The cemetery is currently privately owned, changing hands in 2014 to the stewardship of Sustainable Cemetery Management advocate Cynthia Beal, living and working in Lane County since 1989, who has a personal passion for gardening and sustainable forestry and agriculture, and is bringing a range of natural burial options for both cremated and full-body remains. A final name change is being contemplated - perhaps a return to the Cox Butte Cemetery name, in keeping with geographical history of the place - is in the cemetery's future.
As of 2014, the Cemetery management has elected to transition the grounds to more sustainable landscape management practices. The use of chemical poisons has been almost entirely eliminated, and the cemetery has been trialing many alternative less-toxic forms of vegetation management. Mowing is done on a strict regimen, ensuring maximum efficiency of personnel and fuel. The cemetery composts its flower tributes, rather than throwing them away; its branches and clippings are composted on site rather than hauled; its extra soil from graves is spread into new terraces, beds and berms; new hedgerows for wildlife and boundary management are being created; and irrigation is now being managed with stronger conservation principles in mind.
INTERMENT RIGHTS IN THE GARDENS AT REST LAWN
Currently, approximately half of the 14.35 acres is developed into five separate gardens for adult burial, along with a section specifically for infants, as well as several areas restricted to cremation burials and a few private family estates.
New burial rights are available in Arbors, Bethany, Cedars, and David for full body burials (natural only, for the new burials), and there are cremated remains areas in various sections throughout the cemetery.
The other half of the acreage - an overgrown Christmas tree farm - is being prepared for forest burial in the future; the fir trees have been thinned, the natural grove of birch trees has room to expand, and Hugelkultur terraces to hold future cremated remains burials are being built down the newly cleared hillside. With the opening of these additional sections in the future, our families can be assured of having burial sites available for many decades to come.
MARKERS AND MEMORIALS
A wide variety of markers, vaults, and other cemetery merchandise is available. All first interment rights are now required to have some form of permanent marker to ensure that in future decades and centuries cemetery staff know which grave spaces have been used. A minimal marker at below normal margins is available, as are a variety of other memorials that we design together in remembrance of a loved one.
Visiting ancestral graves can be an important activity for children, and memorials make that connection with the past more tangible. Markers can be chosen and installed after the burial or before; they can also be restored or replaced. Proceeds from our marker sales go to supplement cemetery maintenance and habitat building. Please contact us directly for details.
ENDOWMENT CARE
Unlike most rural, historic cemeteries, Rest Lawn Memorial Park is an "Endowment Care Cemetery," meaning that a percentage of the proceeds from each interment right that is sold are placed in an irreducible care fund. Only the interest from this fund can ever be used, assuring client families that the cemetery will always be maintained and help ensure that it will not fall into a state of abandonment.
NATURAL BURIAL ENCOURAGED
In keeping with its historical culture, where simple wood coffins were placed directly in the earth, without the use of concrete vaults or liners, as of 2018, Oak Hill Cemetery sells new plots for NATURAL BURIALS ONLY, and this holds true throughout the cemetery. While existing plot holders prior to 2018 may still use a concrete outer burial container and non-biodegradable casket, new burials are natural only (i.e., no embalming; biodegradable wicker, or paper coffin, natural fabric shroud and carrier, or softwood casket - check with the cemetery for details)
This means that families are no longer required to purchase an "Outer Burial Container" - a prior cemetery rule in the past - when a biodegradable coffin is used and natural burial protocols are followed. (See the Natural Burials page link for more information).
You can purchase biodegradable coffins directly from your funeral home or you can supply your own. (If you're unable to obtain one easily, we do sell them, too).
Thank you for visiting our website. Feel free to leave us an e-mail message at [email protected] or click on Contact Us for additional ways to reach us.
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YOU ARE WELCOMED TO VISIT THE CEMETERY DAILY FROM DAWN TO DUSK!
MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE - 2024
MONDAY MAY 27, 2024 at 10:00
Each year, the cemetery invites the community to join it for a public Memorial Day Service honoring Veterans to celebrate the men and women who died for our Freedom to Choose.
This year, please join us for a wonderful tribute hosted by the American Legion Post 61, with music by the Oregon Old Time Fiddlers, and an inspiring slate of presenters and guests.
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CEMETERY RULES
We've done our best to identify the things that are important to create and maintain a respectful, sacred cemetery space that can serve families for generations to come. A copy of the Cemetery's Rules, spelling out the elements we think are important to accomplish that, are available during normal office hours. Please don't hesitate to ask us for further clarification, and thank you in advance for adhering to our rules and helping us to keep Rest Lawn Memorial Park one of the loveliest and most peaceful cemeteries in Lane County.
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LICENSED CEMETERY SERVICES
The cemetery is licensed by the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board and is also registered with the Oregon State Dept. of Consumer and Business Services to sell trust-funded pre-arrangement plans.