City Cemeteries

The City owns and operates seven cemeteries. They are significant public assets, invested in by the community with sentimental, historic and cultural value. Cemetery operations include approximately 500 interments each year, along with maintenance of 200 acres of property.

Cemeteries Administration
Evergreen Cemetery
phone  704.336.2123
address  4426 Central Avenue
       Charlotte, NC 28205

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Transcript: Behind the Crown Featuring Bill Bibby

Bill Bibby: If I meet somebody I don't know, what I've learned

throughout the years, they asked me what I do for a living.

There's a little chuckle at first, and then I'll go, I'm a

grave digger. The stories on the headstones is astronomical.

There's governors in here. There's mayors in here.

Randolph Scott. He's the first American cowboy on TV. [He] did

about 100 movies from 1928 to 1968. Like I could do a whole

history tour just in this round, first circle, section A, we'd be

here for two hours. My name is Bill Bibby, and I am the sexton

for the City of Charlotte cemeteries.

[The] term Sexton means the protector of a graveyard. [It]

came from an old church thing that was brought back. I manage

and run about seven cemeteries. And I've been here since 2015.

You have to learn archaeology. You have to learn plumbing. You

have to learn buildings. You have to learn roads. There's a

whole list of and probably 10% of my job of my job is burying

people. It's not that much. But I have to make sure that's the

most important job. Gary Frink, who's my mentor still today, he

came to me, I was coaching his son in baseball, and he goes, 'I

need you to come work for me'. And I'm like, 'what do you do'?

'I work in the cemetery', I was like, 'No'. I said, twice, 'no'.

Then he said, I'll take you to lunch. And I wish I'd got into

it a lot longer than over 20 years ago. Yeah.

Why I was chosen for my mentor, was I was very empathetic. I

understood what what other people were going through at

that time, so. There's many times I'm in front of a family

for six hours, and they will not remember my name tomorrow

because they're in such a cloud at that point in time. I help

them through that. And that's the most honorable job that I

can have. The hard part is I'm always happy-go-lucky. In this

job, you can't always be happy-go-lucky. During COVID, it

was very stressful during that time because we were doubling

the amount of people we were putting in the ground. So we

went from roughly 10 to 17 to about 35 a week. We would have

to be this far away from a family with masks on. And when

you're very empathetic, and I love what I do, it's hard not to

hug. They want to come and hug you and we have to hold back. So

as they're grieving, a hug is always good during grieving

time. We couldn't do that during COVID. So, those families are

coming back to us now and saying thanks for all what we did. So,

it's a very rewarding job.

Well, it's pretty much in my, to me, this is high priority. So

I'd rather preserve it now than have more of a problem later.

We have crystal acid we put on it for stubborn. I'm going to

call this pretty stubborn. And as the days go on, maybe this

morning sun hits it. It'll get shinier every day. Brighter and

brighter.

The most rewarding part about this job is a hug. Believe it or

not. Little old lady is 76 years old and and just wraps her arms

around me and says, 'Billy, you take care of my husband'. And I

say 'I will'. Those are the ones that grab my heartstring.

 

Adult grave spaces are available for sale at Evergreen, Oaklawn and North Pinewood Cemeteries. Monument and non-monument spaces and in-ground cremains spaces are available at Evergreen and Oaklawn. Niches in the columbarium located in Evergreen are available for sale for the entombment of cremated remains, as is an ossuary located in Elmwood Cemetery.

Interments occur in all city cemeteries except for Old Settler's. Please call 704-336-2123 to make an appointment to choose space in one of the available cemeteries or to ask questions.

All municipal cemeteries are in perpetual care. This means that with the payment of a one-time fee on all above sales, the grass and grounds will be properly taken care of forever. However, perpetual care does not mean the repair or replacement of any markers, vases or monuments.

Cemetery Map

Cemetery FAQs

Does it cost more to purchase property at the time of need?

No. Prices are the same whether purchased pre-need or at the time of need.

Who performs grounds maintenance in city cemeteries?

The city hires private grounds maintenance contractors to perform these duties. City employees perform minor grounds maintenance tasks based on customer's requests. Please call our office at 704-336-2123 for more information.

Does the city operate and maintain all the cemeteries within the city limits of Charlotte?

No. The city maintains seven cemeteries: Elmwood, Evergreen, Oaklawn, Pinewood, North Pinewood, West Pinewood and Old Settlers. Other cemeteries within city limits are privately owned and operated.

Where can I obtain genealogy information on people buried in city cemeteries?

You can call our office at 704-336-2123 to obtain individual burial records. You can find genealogy and history information at the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room.

Can two people be buried in the same grave?

There can only be one traditional burial per grave; however, there can be two cremation burials in one traditional gravesite.

I am a veteran. What burial benefits am I entitled to?

The Department of Veterans Affairs' burial benefits can help service members, veterans and their family members plan and pay for burial, funeral and transportation expenses. Learn more on the VA website, or call the VA Benefits hotline at 800-827-1000.

Please note there are no VA national cemeteries in Charlotte. The closest one is Salisbury National Cemetery in Salisbury, NC.