Death is a big business. It’s probably one of the few industries not really affected by the recession, but it’s also a business looking for new ways to grow and Asian-Americans seem to be an ideal target market. Cemeteries are developing Asian themed graveyards and building funeral homes with an Asian appearance. Minnesota Public Radio recently profiled one such cemetery in Minneapolis. In order to attract Asian families, the new “Garden of Eternal Peace” at Sunset Cemetery in Minneapolis uses feng shui principles, such as a large tree surrounded by a river rocks intended to simulate the flow of water.
In case you didn’t realize how big a business death is, the Minneapolis-based cemetery offers pagoda shaped granite headstone markers starting in price at $5,000 ranging up to $25,000. It’s estimated the average cost of a funeral in the United States ranges from $12,000 to $15,000.
In San Jose, CA, Oak Hill Cemetery completed building their Sunshine Chapel (referred to by their staff as the Asian Chapel) a couple of years ago. The chapel has special ventilation systems for incense burning and an attached kitchen for preparing food offerings. Oak Hill, interestingly enough is also the oldest cemetery in California and has a historical Chinese cemetery on its grounds and also features a separate Japanese garden.
Unfortunately, death and funerals is also something I’m relatively familiar with. My parents wanted made sure their death was the one thing their kids didn’t have to worry about. As immigrants to the U.S. in 1971, my parents didn’t have much money, but they still chose to buy a burial plot a few years after arriving. For 15 years, they paid $10 a month in an installment plan and eventually paid in full for a burial plot on Long Island.
In 2001, when my parents retired, they moved to California to be close to their kids. Soon after my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and I found myself with the task of having to find a new final resting place for my dad. We had settled in California and none of the family had any intention of going back to Long Island. I happened across Oak Hill Cemetery by chance, and located four burial plots with good feng shui on a slope with the hill to their back, facing a road that curves in the right direction. I purchased four plots facing the Japanese garden. My dad passed away less than a week later, and we put one of the plots to use much sooner than any of us had originally anticipated. My mom passed away 3 years later, and for her funeral we took advantage of the “Asian” chapel.
I take some comfort in knowing their final resting place has good feng shui and a view of something Asian. And being the Chinese person that I am, I also have my final burial place next to my parents, so my daughter won’t have to worry about my final resting place. Now if I can only figure out what to do with the burial plots on Long Island.
