Lake Zurich Cemetery, Lake Zurich

Lake Zurich had a large settlement of immigrant German farmers in 1901 when many of them joined to build St. Peter Evangelical and Reformed Church and open a two-acre church cemetery nearby on Midlothian Road. In 1949, St. Peter Congregational Church (U.C.C.) in response to the new Illinois cemetery act, deeded the cemetery to the just-formed Lake Zurich Cemetery Association, which operated until 2007. At that time, the cemetery board knew that perpetual care would eventually become impossible to deliver. The Ela Township Board, with the help of permissive state law, was able to assume ownership of the cemetery.

Since the takeover, the township has improved general maintenance, filled sinking areas, planted trees, improved the overall appearance, installed a scatter garden, and opened a new section. Daily visitors come to the cemetery to share remembrances of good times, to meditate, and to visit with lost loved ones.

The cemetery has room for approximately 1300 burials. A little over 1200 sites are under ownership with a majority being devoted to burial. About 20 sites remain for sale.

Cremation Scatter Garden in Lake Zurich Cemetery:
A scatter garden in Lake Zurich Cemetery was completed in 2009. Cremations are becoming more popular as cemetery space becomes scarce. Rising costs for burial plots, cremation plots, and niches, and monuments make scatter gardens a less expensive alternative.

Some people have cremation ashes from a loved one but don’t have clear or specific directions for disposal. This garden is a dedicated and blessed area within the cemetery. The monolith stone with a 20 x 30-inch bronze plaque is inscribed, “A Garden of Treasured Memories – Come find peace here . . . and remember.”