Greensprings Natural Cemetery
“I buried my William here at the end of this past summer and when my time comes I'll be laid a few feet uphill from him. I found the ideas of embalming really distasteful and cremation too violent. I wanted something more simple. Greensprings allows and requires no embalming. Our funeral director in Montour Falls had a nicely finished pine casket available for Bill, and I arranged to have a wool blanket I had made for him, and he had used in his life, laid over him. Nothing more was done to Bill; we held no funeral per se. Several days later the funeral director transported Bill from Montour Falls to Greensprings and we buried him .
The people at Greensprings are patient and kind. I walked the fields and chose a place that overlooked an area where the deer would come out of the forest at dusk. The slope faces south. The people of Greensprings opened the grave before we arrived. I arranged a graveside gathering of family and friends for Bill's burial. We each talked about Bill a little bit. It was all so simple, loving, sad and respectful. Greensprings closed the grave after we left.
I am grateful to the people of Greensprings for maintaining this cemetery option for us while at the same time encouraging the ongoing natural life in this place to thrive. Greensprings is a quiet and beautiful place.”
