visitor information
Hillcrest Cemetery Rules and Regulations Effective January 1, 2023
The following rules and regulations have been developed to ensure that everyone we are honored to serve may enjoy a comfortable, safe, and meaningful experience at our cemetery. These rules are meant as a guide, may change without notice, and will be enforced as necessary.
Visiting Times:
Hillcrest Cemetery is a place where we encourage family and friends to visit as often as possible without the limitations of set times. Therefore, Hillcrest does not have opening and closing times nor do we have physical barriers to restrict access. We do recommend, however, that visiting is limited to daylight hours for the safety of yourself and others.
Cemetery Etiquette:
Hillcrest Cemetery is a place for all who wish to be remembered and honored. In so doing, we do not discriminate in any way regarding race, religion, gender choice, or political affiliation. Hillcrest maintains a neutral position in all regards. With that said, we ask that when visiting Hillcrest, you maintain respectful and dignified etiquette not only for yourself but for others who may be visiting. This is a special place of honor and respect. Handle yourself accordingly and as you would expect to be treated.
During Your Visit:
As mentioned, we encourage families and friends to visit often. We also encourage and expect Hillcrest to be a place where loved ones may spend time and enjoy the natural beauty of the grounds and surroundings. The following specific items apply:
- Picnics are allowed. We do ask that you refrain from playing loud music.
- All trash generated by visitors who choose to picnic shall be taken by said party.
- Beverages of an adult nature are not prohibited, but proper protocols are expected.
- Hillcrest is pet friendly, pets must be leashed and aggressive pets will not be tolerated.
- Visitors shall clean up after their respective pets and all waste shall be taken off site.
- All visitors will show respect and tolerance to other visitors at all times.
Grave Decorations:
The decoration of graves is expected to happen at Hillcrest and especially at certain times of the year. It is recommended that decorations be limited to size and quantity. We also ask that decorations, as much as possible, be limited to natural items such as flowers and wreaths in order to protect wildlife and our environment.
Care Of The Cemetery:
The owners and management of Hillcrest reserve the right to change, remove, refurbish, or plant new items on the grounds at anytime and without the permission of, or notice to, any rights holders.
Decorations that are placed on graves will be respected as best possible in regard to cemetery maintenance. Please note Hillcrest is not responsible for damaged decorations or items left on graves, nor are we responsible for any items being stolen. Decorations that are in poor condition or those which have deteriorated to a point of becoming unattractive shall be removed and disposed of at the cemeteries discretion.
Monuments and Markers:
Hillcrest is designated as a "Memorial Park" which means it is intended to maintain a park like appearance. In keeping with this style, upright markers are prohibited at Hillcrest Cemetery. Flat markers are permitted and may be made of bronze, granite, or other stone types. Styles of the markers are up to the discretion of the grave owners, however they must comply with the allowable size and material types allowed.
It is highly recommended that if you wish to purchase a monument or marker that you contact Hillcrest Cemetery for assistance to ensure the highest quality and proper sizing. Bronze markers, whether veteran or private are required to be mounted on a granite backer to ensure secure placement and limit theft. Please contact our office for available colors and sizes.
Being that Hillcrest is a hybrid green cemetery, and we are maintaining the best standards to ensure the highest level of protection for our environment, we no longer allow the use of concrete borders on granite markers. With the exception of concrete borders to match pre-existing markers on a family plot, we have eliminated the use of these borders entirely as of December 2021.
All markers must be approved by Hillcrest management to ensure proper size, design, and material prior to being installed. Installation must be professionally done for safety, proper handling, and proper placement on the grave site. Hillcrest Cemetery/ Cook Family Funeral Home does not install third party markers.
We take great pride in the appearance of Hillcrest as to ensure a well cared for and proper place of honor for those who are in our care. In so doing, we have taken it upon ourselves to care for and maintain the marker placements. What this means is that we will adjust or realign any marker that either sinks or moves due to natural changes of the ground at the cemetery. These adjustments will be done at no charge by our staff and without notice to the family. This will allow for Hillcrest to maintain its appearance and avoid the creation of dangerous hazards to other visitors.
Grave Opening/Closing:
The opening and closing of a grave at Hillcrest Cemetery by anyone other than authorized staff is strictly forbidden. The State of Washington requires that all burials, whether cremation, traditional, or green shall be recorded on an annual basis with the state along with a fee of $10.00 for each burial. Hillcrest Cemetery will provide all grave openings and closings to ensure safety and compliance with state law regarding depth and proper placement. All families or the funeral director handling the arrangements on the families behalf must notify Hillcrest Cemetery management of the date and time they wish to have a burial doing so with ample time so Hillcrest may accommodate the burial properly.
Grave Purchases/Refunds/Selling of Graves:
Hillcrest Cemetery and its management believe that the rights of interment purchased by families are owned by those respective families. This means that if a right of interment is purchased and not used there are no refunds from Hillcrest. All sales are final. It is important to note, that buyers are not buying the actual land but rather the right of interment in a particular grave space.
Should a family want to sell the rights to the space, it is theirs to do so and at the current going rate of other rights of interment in Hillcrest. It is, however, the responsibility of the family selling the rights to notify Hillcrest Cemetery management of the sale along with the name, address, telephone number and email address of the new owner.
It is also the responsibility of the family to send back to Hillcrest, the right of interment issued at the time of sale for the grave space originally. If this document is not available for any reason, the selling party shall provide in writing a statement of fact explaining the lost document. Please note, there will be a one time charge of $50.00 payable upon the sale of the rights to the grave space to a new owner and this fee is compensation for the canceling out of the currentowner documents, changing of the maps and books, and reissuing of a new right of interment document. This fee shall be payable to Hillcrest Cemetery prior to the new owner using the space for burial. Said fee may be charged by the seller as part of the transfer and seller shall be responsible for this charge. If seller fails to pay this fee, the new owner will be held responsible before burial will be allowed in the plot.
Endowment Fund:
Hillcrest Cemetery shall place 10% of the proceeds of every right of interment sale into an investment account for the continued care of the cemetery and its markers and monuments long after it is no longer used. These funds are supervised by the State of Washington are intended to only be used for the care and maintenance of Hillcrest once the sale of interment rights has ceased. We will make this amount known at the time of purchase and it will be clearly marked on the Right of Interment upon purchase.
Parking:
Hillcrest is a small rural cemetery and therefore is limited as to road size and parking within the grounds of the cemetery. We ask all family and friends who are visiting to please park in designated areas when possible. If road parking or a disability require you to be closer, we kindly ask that you move off the roadway as much as possible so others may access the different areas of the cemetery.
If a funeral procession is in the cemetery typically they will remain on the road. This is usually for a prescribed time period and we make every effort to clear the road as soon as is respectfully possible. During funerals we ask that you respect the parking situation and park away from the procession.
Green or Natural Burials:
In addition to being a "Memorial Park" style cemetery, Hillcrest Cemetery is also a "hybrid" cemetery. This means that in addition to traditional casketed burials and cremation burials, we also offer "green" or "natural" burials in designated sections of our cemetery. What this means is that no caskets or vaults are used, the remains are unembalmed or embalmed with natural solutions, and the body is placed directly into the soil or within a natural eco-friendly basket or casket.
These spaces are not allowed to contain any man made products and may be left more natural in appearance then the rest of the grounds which are manicured. Within these areas the use of modern markers and monuments are allowed with materials such as granite or natural stone.
We encourage the families who have chosen green or natural burial to bring decorations made from natural materials. Items such as wreaths made from local foliage and including berries and other food items are good for the animals who frequent Hillcrest. Plastic or artificial decorations are not allowed in these sections. If a man made item is placed in these sections it will be removed by cemetery management.
No plantings are to be made unless authorized by the cemetery management and deemed to be a non foreign species or planting as to encourage the natural local foliage to flourish. Introduction of non native species can result in disease and loss of the natural plants and trees in our area.
No pesticides or herbicides may be used in the cemetery. Spaces are also not to be manicured in anyway by family or friends. If there is an issue with your families plot, please notify us right away and we will address the issue. This includes low spots where ground has settled; a common occurrence especially with natural burial.
Please refrain from walking on these graves in particular. Unlike traditional graves, green burial spaces do not contain any structure to support the ground or other items above them; people included. Walking on these spaces is not only disrespectful but may result in a grave collapse resulting in injury.
Green or natural burials are allowed anywhere in the cemetery should you choose a grave in the more manicured area. Please note however, if you choose to have a green or natural burial in the manicured section of the cemetery, the area will be maintained to match the surrounding section. No special accommodations will be made because of the natural burial choice.
The preceding are the current rules and regulations of Hillcrest Cemetery and shall be subject to change without notice as deemed necessary. We, the management of Hillcrest will make every effort to ensure that our cemetery remains a safe, respectful, and honored place for your loved ones.
Office Location:
Hillcrest Cemetery is owned and operated by Cook Family Funeral Home of Bainbridge Island. Our cemetery office is located at this location and our address is as follows:
Physical Office Address:
(Office Hours: Mon. to Fri. 9am to 5pm)
Cook Family Funeral Home
163 Wyatt Way NE
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Mailing Address:
Hillcrest Cemetery
PO Box 11109
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Hillcrest Cemetery Physical Address:
5535 Old Mill Road NE
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(Please note there is no office on site)
Phone: (206)842-2642
Email: hillcrestcemeterybi@gmail.com
Although we welcome visits at our office, we highly recommend appointments so to ensure that you are given ample time.
Board Members:
Francis T. Dinan Jr. (President/Secretary)
Alison M. Hahn (Treasurer)
Shiane Gouveia (Member)