When is White Rose Cemetery open?

The cemetery grounds are open for visitation from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The cemetery office is located at Bartlesville Public Library and follows the BPL operating hours.

How do I find out about Rules and Regulations that may apply at White Rose?
A copy of the Rules and Regulations is included on this website. Please call the cemetery office at 918-338-4070 during office hours to answer any questions you may have.

Who owns White Rose Cemetery?
The White Rose Cemetery is a non-sectarian cemetery owned and operated by the City of Bartlesville, OK. A Cemetery Board, approved by the Bartlesville City Council, acts as an advisory group. A Cemetery Relations Coordinator is on staff to oversee operations and the Parks Department provides maintenance.

Is there any property still available or is White Rose almost full?
There are still hundreds of spaces available for sale, though the selection in some of the cemetery’s older sections may be limited. The land north of the cemetery and west of the office is also platted for future cemetery use.

Is there a place for cremated remains at White Rose? Can cremains be scattered at the cemetery?
There is no separate area at this time for the burial of cremated remains. However, up to four urns may be permitted in one burial space. Cremains must be kept in an outer receptacle and interred in a burial space. Scattering of cremains is not allowed.

May the remains of our family pet be interred on the family burial lot?
Only human remains may be interred, entombed or inurned at White Rose.

May I plant a tree, flowers, plants, etc. at White Rose? How about placing a small fence or enclosure around the grave?
No plantings are permitted on burial spaces. Only authorized City of Bartlesville personnel are permitted to dig within the cemetery grounds. Due to maintenance issues no enclosure or structure should be placed around any grave.

Are upright monuments permitted at White Rose?
Upright monuments are allowed in Blocks 1 – 6. The marking of graves in Sunset Gardens (Blocks 7 and 8) are restricted to flat markers set flush with the turf, with the exception of Block 7, Lots 130 and 131, where upright headstones are allowed.

Does White Rose Cemetery sell monuments and markers?
The cemetery does not sell monuments and markers but a partial listing of monument companies in this area as well as the rules and regulations for monuments is included on this website.

May I sell my cemetery property?
Documented owners may sell their cemetery property. Any such transfers must be documented with a transfer agreement prepared and recorded by the White Rose Cemetery office. In some cases, the City of Bartlesville will repurchase spaces from the owner to make available for reselling.

What are the principle types of cemeteries and how do they differ?
Cemeteries usually are divided into two broad categories: traditional cemeteries and memorial parks or gardens. A traditional cemetery, the type used for many generations, has upright monuments, usually made of stone. Many traditional cemeteries also have private mausoleums for above-ground interment. Because many have functioned in their communities for over 100 years, traditional cemeteries typically contain a great deal of history, such as architecture, statuary and other art, as well as the personages interred there.

Memorial parks and gardens are a newer type of cemetery introduced about 75 years ago. They are cemeteries without tombstones: parks and gardens where bronze memorials are placed level with the ground to blend with the landscape. Some cemeteries have both traditional upright monument sections and garden sections. Both types of cemeteries may offer above-ground interment in community mausoleums. Both traditional cemeteries and memorial parks may be operated on a for-profit or not-for-profit basis. They may be owned by an individual or by a corporation. Some are owned mutually, and many are the property of towns, counties and religious or fraternal groups. Both may have chapels, crematories, community mausoleums, mortuaries or funeral homes and columbarium’s.

Why is having a place to memorialize someone so important?
Because it provides a focal point for memorializing the deceased. To remember, and be remembered, are natural human needs. Throughout human history, memorialization of the dead has been a key component of almost every culture. Psychologists say that remembrance practices, from the funeral or memorial service to permanent memorialization, serve an important emotional function for survivors by helping to bring closure and allowing the healing process to begin. Providing a permanent resting place for the deceased is a dignified treatment for a loved one’s mortal remains, which fulfills the natural human desire for memorialization.

What is opening and closing and why is it so expensive?
Opening and closing fees can include several services provided by the cemetery. Typically, the opening and closing fee includes administration and permanent record keeping (determining ownership, obtaining permission and the completion of other documentation which may be required, entering the interment particulars in the interment register, maintaining all legal files); opening and closing the grave (locating the grave and laying out the boundaries, excavating and filling the interment space); leveling, tamping, re-grading and sodding the grave site and leveling and re-sodding the grave if the earth settles.

Can we dig our own grave to avoid the charge for opening and closing?
The actual opening of the grave and closing of the grave is just one component of the opening and closing fee. Because of safety issues which arise around the use of machinery on cemetery property and the protection of property of adjacent interment rights holders, the actual opening and closing of the grave is conducted by cemetery grounds personnel.

What happens when a cemetery runs out of land?
When a cemetery runs out of land, it will continue to operate and serve the community. Since more and more individuals and families are purchasing their graves in advance, graves which have been sold will be opened when a death occurs, markers will be placed and other services will be provided. The City of Bartlesville has funds to be set aside from each sale for the long-term care and maintenance of the cemetery. The City has also purchased the land north of the existing cemetery and west of the cemetery office which will be used for future burials.

What is double depth and does White Rose allow it?
Some cemeteries either allow for the burial of two caskets in a grave or have specific sections where this type of grave is available. Double depth just means that one casket is placed in the grave at an approximate depth of seven feet. When a second interment is required, the second casket is placed on top of the first casket at standard depth. White Rose does not allow for double depth burials.

What is entombment?
Entombment is the interment of human remains in a tomb or mausoleum. It involves placing a casket or cremation urn in a crypt or niche (individual compartment within a mausoleum or columbarium) which is then sealed.

What is a mausoleum?
Historically, the word mausoleum comes from the large temple-like structure which was erected by Queen Artemisia in the ancient city of Harlicarnassua as the final resting place for her late husband, King Mausolus. A community mausoleum is simply a large building designed to provide above-ground entombment for a number of people. Sharing the costs of the mausoleum with other individuals makes it more affordable than a private mausoleum. Crypts are designed to hold casketed remains. Following a casket entombment, the crypt is sealed, and a granite or marble front is attached. The White Rose Mausoleum was built in 1921. The 15,000 square foot building is in the Greek Neoclassic style, houseing over 500 crypts. It is constructed of concrete with white stone exterior and the entrie interior made of white marble. The windows are made of ornamental leaded glass and the doors and gates of bronze.

May I make the necessary arrangements in advance?
Cemetery spaces may be purchased in advance. When you plan ahead, you will be able to consider the options available. You will have the
opportunity to make an informed decision about your funeral and cemetery arrangements and the form of memorial you prefer. You will be able to make choices that are meaningful to both you and your family, and you will gain peace of mind knowing your family and friends will be relieved of the emotional and financial burden often associated with making arrangements when a death occurs.

When I buy a grave do I receive a deed just like when I purchase other types of real estate?
When you purchase a grave you are in fact purchasing the right to designate who may be interred in the space, rather than purchasing the
grave itself, which remains the property and responsibility of the cemetery. You also have a right to place a memorial where permitted.

In a hundred years will this cemetery still be here?
We think of cemetery lands as being in perpetuity. There are cemeteries throughout the world that have been in existence well over a hundred years.

What is a disinterment? What is the process, and why does it happen?
Disinterment is the removal of the casket containing human remains from a grave. Laws governing disinterment vary by state or province.
Disinterment may be ordered by certain public officials without the consent of the grave owner or the next of kin, for example, as part of a
police investigation. Individuals or families may also request disinterment, if for example they would like to have the human remains relocated to another grave in the cemetery, to a mausoleum or possibly shipped to a country of birth. Disinterment requires the grave to be opened. The casket containing the human remains is removed. Depending on the length of time the casket has been buried, a new casket may be required. The grave is then closed.

What does the government give a veteran in regards to a marker?
The United States government provides headstones and markers for the graves of veterans and eligible dependents anywhere in the world. Flat bronze, flat granite, flat marble and upright marble types are available to mark the grave of a veteran or dependent in the style consistent with exiting monuments at the place of burial. Bronze niche markers are also available to mark columbaria in national cemeteries used for internment of cremated remains. For more information, see the Department of Veterans Affairs web site for the National Cemetery System at https://www.cem.va.gov/hmm/

What are burial vaults and graveliners?
These are the outside containers into which the casket is placed. Burial vaults are designed to protect the casket, and may be made of a variety or combination of materials including concrete, stainless steel, galvanized steel, copper, bronze, plastic or fiberglass. A graveliner is a lightweight version of a vault which simply keeps the grave surface from sinking in. In most areas of the country, state or local law does not require that you buy a container to surround the casket in the grave. However, White Rose regulations require that you have such a container so that the ground will not sink. Either a graveliner or a burial vault will satisfy these requirements.