The Future Of Death: Cremation On The Rise
Views on death are beginning to change as the average lifespan increases; the number of Americans over the age of 65 is expected to rise 26% within this decade, and no state understands that better than Maine. The Pine Tree State's aging population (65 or older) is predicted to outnumber the young by the year 2020.
Interestingly enough, Maine is one of the 12 states where cremation is growing fastest. Joe Dumais, superintendent at Portland's historic Evergreen Cemetery, had planned for this boom and added a semicircular columbarium with 300 niches, which can hold as many as 600 cremated remains.
"We're over 50 percent cremations now, and we know as a nation we’re trending toward cremations," he said of the interments for that year. "In some cemeteries, it’s as high as 60 percent ...





