At Williamsburg Memorial Park, we have a special tradition: honoring your traditions. For 60 years, our goal has been to honor those who have been laid to rest here and to celebrate each family’s special traditions.

When planning a memorial, every detail that’s important to your family, heritage, and background is important to us. With so many different local cultures, it’s important that we serve everyone in our community equally. “Our community is diverse, and so are we,” says General Manager, Angela Byrum.

The act of placing visitation stones is significant in Jewish bereavement practices. If a Jewish family visits Williamsburg Memorial Park and wants to honor the tradition of bodies returning to the Earth, needing shovels, and washing hands at the gravesite, we will happily provide these items.

Chinese mourners believe that burning paper money will provide their deceased family members with everything they need in the afterlife. If a Chinese family wants to burn money and light incense at their memorial, we will do everything we can to honor this tradition.

Every religion, nationality, and family has its own way of celebrating life. Our Family Service Counselors are experts in a wide range of traditions and will do everything they can to accommodate your special requests.

If your family has a non-traditional way of celebrating your loved one, we will work with you to make sure your memorial is as special as the person you are honoring. A meeting with one of our staff members will ensure that the farewell given to your loved one will be a truly memorable experience—for both you and your family.

According to the International Cemetery Cremation Funeral Directors Association (ICCFA), the average cost of a funeral doubles every ten years, which places additional financial stress on families that may already be struggling.

At Williamsburg Memorial Park, we can help alleviate the stress associated with rising costs by helping you plan NOW. One of our main goals is to make sure your family isn’t sitting across the table from us several years from now and being told that the funeral you planned is much more expensive than you expected.

In fact, one of the benefits of pre-planning is that the funeral you pay for today, will be secured and locked in for the future—regardless of price increases. This will alleviate a lot of the financial stress associated with a funeral.

Why is pre-planning important?

Your family and friends should be able to mourn and celebrate your life without added stress. By addressing your future needs now, you’ll feel a sense of peace knowing that you won’t cause additional heartache or financial burden. Plus, your loved ones won’t emotionally overspend and your funeral will be exactly what you want!

Better yet, by pre-planning now, you’ll get a better lot location and you can save space for other family members. Even if you end up moving out of the area, any purchase you make can be transferred to another participating property through the ICCFA Credit Exchange Plan.

To get started, contact us today!

Because of the heavy rains we’ve had over the past several weeks, part of the main entry road leading to our cemetery has collapsed. For the safety of our clients, guests, and staff, Williamsburg Memorial Park will be closed until Saturday, October 3, 2020, to facilitate the necessary repairs.

Although our administrative offices will also be closed, our staff will be available by phone and email during our normal business hours of 10 AM to 4:30 PM. To contact us, please call 757.565.2006 or use our 24/7 Contact Form.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Best regards,
Angela Byrum
General Manager

Williamsburg Memorial Park is pleased to announce that our General Manager, Angela Byrum, was recently awarded the title of Certified Cemetery Executive (CCE.)

The CCE title is presented to individuals who have attained the highest level of cemetery management as determined by the International Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Association (ICCFA), an international organization with more than 9,100 members. As of today, only 6 people have received the CCE title in Virginia and only 225 worldwide.

Ms. Byrum began her career with Williamsburg Memorial Park in 2005 as a Family Services Counselor. Within a few short years, she quickly rose to the rank of General Manager. Under her leadership, Williamsburg Memorial Park has made a number of improvements, including a 3,600 square-foot customer care center, better family estate choices, a consecrated area for Jewish families, and more affordable burial and cremation options for people with limited resources.

Ms. Byrum is currently overseeing the cemetery’s most ambitious expansion to date, which is called Cambridge Gardens and features a ten-foot-tall granite obelisk ossuary, inspired by the Washington Monument and handcrafted in the United States. She has also expanded Williamsburg Memorial Park’s annual community outreach programs, which include a Memorial Day Celebration, a Holiday Luminary, and a 1K Kids Run—the last of which raised more than $1,500 in cash and food this year for the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank.

In addition to her regular responsibilities, Ms. Byrum has been a board member of the Virginia Cemetery Association for the past 11 years and even served as its president from 2016 to 2018. More recently, she appeared on Capitol Hill in support of the cemetery industry and its clients.

“Angela is an incredible person, a tremendous manager, and a strong industry advocate. She genuinely cares about her clients, her staff, and honoring those who are no longer with us. I can’t think of anyone who is more deserving,” said Jay Dodds, President, ICCFA.