Valdese's town cemetery out of burial plots

Valdese’s cemetery is full.

That means Burke County has one less municipality-owned cemetery to offer residents less expensive burial plots compared to privately owned cemeteries.

Public cemeteries owned by local governments are open to anyone in the community regardless of family ties, religion, military service, or any other factor. Many church cemeteries, on the other hand, are closed to anyone who is not a member of the congregation.

Public cemeteries tend to be less expensive because they serve a broader range of people. However, like Hillcrest Memorial Park in Valdese, many public cemeteries are at or near capacity.

According to the town’s 2026-27 budget documents, Valdese received its last cemetery revenue in the 2024-25 fiscal year when the fund generated $5,000.

Heritage Funeral Service & Crematory manager Justin Abernathy said that, at one time, Hillcrest Memorial Park’s plots cost about $500 for non-residents, but $300 for residents — “Which was a deal,” he said.

Abernathy said burial plots at Mountain View Cemetery in Rutherford College and Calvary Memorial Gardens in Connelly Springs cost about $500 to $750. Private cemetery plots often cost a minimum of $1,000.

“They’re not completely out of options, obviously,” Abernathy said. “There are some places around, you just kind of have to do a little more work to try to help them get what they want, but that’s what we’re here for.”

Abernathy said he also refers customers to Forest Hills Cemetery in Morganton, Burke Memorial Park, Catawba Memorial Park, or Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Lenoir, to name a few.

“Now, occasionally you’ll have some people … that are wanting to sell their (cemetery plots), and we’ll keep a little notebook here of some people who have spaces at Hillcrest and decided they’re not going to use them,” Abernathy said. “A lot of families, if they happen to be in a bind, I can pull that book out and try to hook them up with these other individuals to buy a space.”

Morganton’s city cemeteries — Forest Hill and Olive Hill — still have plots available, said Morganton Public Works Director Michael Chapman. Forest Hill has about 150 burial plots and space to expand if needed, plus 73 columbarium niches for cremated remains. Olive Hill has about 30 burial plots.

Forest Hill is the only city cemetery with a columbarium, Chapman said.

The cost of cemetery plots and columbarium niches in Morganton’s city cemeteries is the same at $750 for city residents and $1,200 for non-residents.