What is a Memorial Park?
A memorial park is a modern cemetery with a difference.
The most noticeable difference is that rather than the competing headstones of traditional
cemeteries, memorial parks use dignified sculptured bronze markers lying flat on
landscaped plots to memorialize a grave. This allows visitors to enjoy the beautifully
manicured garden-style grounds without distractions.
The concept of a memorial park is to provide visitors with an atmosphere of natural
beauty, peace for quiet meditation and a sense of dignity and honor to the memory of loved
ones.
Our Mission Statement
We solemnly dedicate our efforts to build a garden
cemetery, which shall not only honor the dead, but also shall bring
healing and hope to the living through the holiness of its beauty.
It shall have adequate endowment, guaranteeing its perpetual
loveliness far into the future. It
shall express reverence and gratitude for our forebears so that all
who come to visit will know that those who have gone were indeed buried
with dignity and honor and remembered with affection.
History of Sharon
It is not a coincidence that Sharon Memorial Park was founded the same year as the modern
State of Israel. It was 1948 and the post-World War II Boston Jewish community was coming
into its own. The war had been over for three years. The GIs had settled in good jobs or
started their own businesses. Out of the ashes of Nazi Europe was rising a new homeland in
Israel, and Jews around the world felt secure, enfranchised and empowered.
One way for the Jewish community to show that it was a part of modern America was to
create a modern, garden-style park with uniform bronze markers lying flat on landscaped
plots as an alternative to traditional cemeteries with stone monuments. Sharon Memorial
Park, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2008, is modeled after Forest Lawn Cemetery
in Los Angeles but follows strict Jewish burial traditions.
In 1948, a 317-acre parcel in the towns of Sharon and Canton designated as far back as
1898 for cemetery use came on the market. A dozen business and community leaders felt the
time was right for a large, modern cemetery. They seized the opportunity and created a
place that could be appreciated by the living - Sharon Memorial Park.
Although the new cemetery was in rural Sharon, newspaper ads in 1949 noted that it was
only nine miles from Mattapan Square which was an up and coming center of Jewish life.
They hoped to attract interest from people as far away as Providence, just 30 minutes away
on Route 1.
For prospective lot buyers without cars or someone to drive them, Sharon Memorial Park
would send a courtesy car to bring them for a tour and a meeting with a counselor. The
location and setting were so attractive that twenty-eight sponsoring Boston area
synagogues reserved sections at Sharon over the years.
A chief architect and visionary of Sharon Memorial Park was Eric Marmorek of Newton who
served as the park's first executive Vice President from 1949-1967. He traveled
extensively to research other parks around the world. Marmorek instituted the most
innovative ideas that he gleaned from other cemeteries, while always maintaining the
highest standards.
In addition to being among the first modern Jewish cemeteries, Sharon Memorial Park is
known in the industry for many other firsts: Sharon pioneered pre-need planning which is
an industry standard today. It was the first to offer a budget payment plan with free
insurance that provided for cancellation of the debt if the buyer died before the final
payment. It was the first cemetery in the area to offer family burial "estates"
with benches for visitors, and it was among the first to feature a visitor friendly
administration building with public restrooms.
There were many other firsts. Sharon was a leader in guaranteeing to set aside a portion
of each purchase price in an irrevocable trust earmarked for the perpetual care of the
grounds. It was the first to name sections of the park after historic and Biblical
locations in Israel. Such as Galilee, Ein Gedi, Mount of Olives and Jerusalem. Sharon
includes a "Shomrei Shabbat" section for Orthodox Jews, and was one of the first
cemeteries--45 years ago--to establish its Beersheba section for interments of Jewish
mixed marriages.
Sharon Memorial Park is so full of nature and life that it is not unusual to see families
visiting with children. Bird watchers, too, come to the grounds. Visitors may also see
deer foraging in the lush hills of the park.
Despite its popularity over the years, Sharon is a long way from being at capacity. In
fact, it expects to serve the public for generations to come.
Perpetual Care
A part of every purchase price is set aside in an irrevocable trust earmarked for the
perpetual care of the grounds.
Sharon Memorial Park has been called a "landscape architect's dream." The
spacious lawns, myriad plantings of azaleas, rhododendrons, fruit trees and flower gardens
serves as a lovely haven that comforts those who come to revere their loved ones. The
landscaping includes giant boulders from Israel's Negev and Sinai regions, so the park
truly contains a piece of the Holy Land.
Visiting
the Park
At Sharon Memorial Park we are dedicated to
providing the highest level of service. Our administration building
is open Sunday through Friday year-round (see our schedule of holiday
closings) and there is always a Family Service Counselor on site to assist
you. We provide lot location maps and information, directions within
the park, prayer books, yarmulkes and we can escort visitors if they are
not familiar with a location. If you call ahead, a member of our
staff can prepare these items for your arrival.
Your safety is important to us. To enhance our beauty and serenity PLEASE:
- Leave natural flowers only (no
artificial flowers, balloons, pinwheels, plant hangers, baskets or
other items)
- Do not place any stones or other hard
objects on the bronze memorials.
- Potted plants, plantings or digging are
not permitted.
- Return water bottles to administration
building.
- Park vehicles on the roadways only.
- Use vases from the months of April
through November.
- Refrain from recreational bicycling,
roller blading and bringing animals to the park.
- No solicitations of any kind are ever
allowed on or about the grounds of the park.
- Abide by the 10 mile per hour speed
limit throughout the park.
A complete listing of rules
and regulations are available in the main office.
Hours
Visiting Hours:
Gates open for visiting Sunday through Thursday 7:30 a.m. until sundown
Friday - gates close at 5:00 p.m.
Building Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 8:30 -
4:15
Friday: 8:30 - 4:00
Sunday: 8:30 - 4:00
Sunday winter hours (Nov 1
- March 15): 8:30 - 3:00
Sharon Memorial Park will
be closed for the following Jewish holidays:
Click
here for Jewish Calendar
Passover
Shavuot
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Sukkot
Shemini Atzeret
Simchat Torah
On the following holidays the
building is closed but the park is open to visitors. There will be no
funerals scheduled on these days.
New Years Day
4th of July
Thanksgiving
Christmas Day
For more information on the hours of operation and holidays please
contact the office.
Employment
There are presently no job openings at Sharon Memorial
Park. However, if you would like to be considered for opportunities
that may arise in the future, please email your resume to the address
below and we will keep the information on file.
Email resume to: Employment
Office
Directions
How to Reach Sharon Memorial
Park
Click
here for Google Map
From Boston & Suburbs:
Follow Route 1 to Norwood. Take ramp on right (sign reads Norwood--Canton). Go half way
around the rotary to Neponset Street and follow signs to Park (2.5 miles to stone bridge
and take right). Proceed approximately 1.5 miles and go left on Dedham Street.
The main entrance will be 1/2 mile down Dedham Street on your left.
From South of Boston:
Follow Route 128 North to Route 95 South towards Providence. Take exit 11A (Neponset
Street Canton) and follow signs to Park (1.3 miles to stone bridge and take right).
Proceed approximately 1.5 miles and go left on Dedham Street.
The main entrance will be 1/2 mile down Dedham Street on your left.
From North of Boston:
Take Southeast Expressway to Route 128 North and then to Route 95 South towards
Providence. Take exit 11A (Neponset Street Canton) and follow signs to Park
(1.3 miles to
stone bridge and take right). Proceed approximately 1.5 miles and go left on Dedham Street.
The main entrance will be 1/2 mile down Dedham Street on your left.
From West of Boston:
Follow Route 128 South to Route 95 South towards Providence. Take exit 11A (Neponset
Street Canton) and follow signs to Park (1.3 miles to stone bridge and take right).
Proceed approximately 1.5 miles and go left on Dedham Street.
The main entrance will be 1/2 mile down Dedham Street on your left.
From Providence:
Take Route 95 North to Exit 11A (Neponset Street Canton) and follow signs to Park
(1.3
miles to stone bridge and take right). Proceed approximately 1.5 miles and go left on Dedham Street.
The main entrance will be 1/2 mile down Dedham Street on your left.
For any information, please come to the Administration Building. It is our privilege to
assist you in any way we can.
|
