By Susan Payne
For over 125 years, Woodlawn Cemetery, Mausoleum & Mortuary, wholly owned and operated by the city of Santa Monica, has served the community as one of the few municipally owned cemeteries and mortuaries in the United States.
For most people, the choice of final resting is incredibly personal, but Woodlawn’s caring and compassionate staff are available to assist you during the most difficult circumstances.
Woodlawn offers traditional burial and green burial plots, crypts, cremation niches and cremation graves. Service options can involve burials, cremations, viewings, funerals, and memorial services.
“Our caring staff will help you find the most meaningful resting place,” said Adam Lopez, Woodlawn’s Cemetery Administrator.
Much of the services at Woodlawn involves helping family and loved ones recognize and honor those who have passed on. Many look for personal ways to remember their loved ones.
“We invite you to visit this beautiful setting and tour our facilities. We think you will agree that Woodlawn is a pleasant place to rest, reflect and celebrate life,” said Lopez.
In 2015, Woodlawn was officially designated a Monarch butterfly habitat by Monarch Watch, the leading conservation organization for the endangered butterfly. 2016, Woodlawn became one of the three cemeteries in Southern California to offer green/natural burial upon the addition of Eternal Meadow, designed with beautiful California-native wildflowers, plants and grasses.
In keeping with the City of Santa Monica’s commitment to sustainability and the environment, Eternal Meadow offers families an eco-friendly burial option. Green burials minimize environmental damage because no toxic chemicals, metals or cement vaults are used. Green burial uses a simple wooden casket or an organic shroud with carrier. Cremated remains are placed in biodegradable urns.
“Green burials hasten the return of the body to the earth while simultaneously providing nourishment to the plant life around it. It is a meaningful way to honor the life of a loved one,” Lopez said.
Planning a form of tribute for a loved one is an important step toward healing. If a death has occurred while not under the care of a medical or hospice professional, Woodlawn recommends dialing 911 if police or paramedics are not present. Woodlawn can be reached at 310-458-8717 ext. 1 for arrangements to pick up your loved one and guide you through the funeral planning process. Woodlawn also helps families make pre-planned arrangements for funeral services.
“Making arrangements, whether preneed or in a time of need can be difficult. Woodlawn’s staff is compassionate, knowledgeable, and respectful, so we can ensure to handle all arrangements in a way to honor loved ones that have passed,” Lopez added.
“We like to be transparent with our prices. We are required to have our mortuary’s General price List posted on our website, but we decided to go one step further and have a Comprehensive Price List that has all the fees listed for the Cemetery and Mortuary,” Lopez said. Woodlawn lists a general and comprehensive list of prices at www.santamonica.gov/places/cityfacilities/woodlawn-cemetery.
Woodlawn is the final resting place of more than 54,000 people including nationally known persons such as astronaut Sally Ride, cosmetics guru Merle Norman, and political activist and former California State Senator Tom Hayden. Some of the top Hollywood actors resting at Woodlawn include Glenn Ford (Superman, The Big Heat, and The Blackboard Jungle); Irene Ryan (The Beverly Hillbillies); Harvey Korman (The Carol Burnett Show); Barbara Billingsley (Leave It to Beaver); Hal Smith (The Andy Griffith Show); Ted Bessell (That Girl); Doug McClure (The Virginians); and Paul Henreid (Casablanca).
For more information, visit santamonica. gov or email woodlawn.cemetery@ santamonica.gov.
