DAYTON — When businessman Dennis Harden died unexpectedly Nov. 8, 2004, his widow Elizabeth, a Wright State English professor, wanted to remember him as "the love of my life." While the deceased rested in a Kentucky cemetery 285 miles from Dayton, Elizabeth conferred with the staff at historic Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum.

Harden purchased a granite tomb with six crypts, three to each side, with a center aisle behind stately bronze doors and leaded stained glass windows. She doesn't wish to say how much, but a similar model being shown on the grounds is priced at $206,000, including the land.

While funeral customs evolve as families scatter, Woodland President David Fitzsimmons sees a growing, if modest, marketing niche for the private family mausoleum.

Fitzsimmons has identified at least 20 possible sites for new structures at Woodland, which already has 53 holding six or more crypts.

"Nationally there's a new demand from the baby boomers, who appreciate property values," he said. "There is a desire for a more traditional way to celebrate a life well-lived."

The cost of craftsmanship and transportation of 48,000 pounds of stone put private mausoleums beyond most people's reach.

"Mausoleum entombment and memorialization is a unique way to recognize a life. It's quite exclusive. Only a very few families can consider this option," Fitzsimmons said.

Records of Cold Springs Granite Co., which supplies the rock, show a small but steady rise in sales, Fitzsimmons said. There were 80 sold in 1994. The number hit 1,000 in 2004.

Her 13-by-15-foot tomb is "like a little home," Harden said. She added a patio and walkway to make it even more homey.

"His death hurt me so deeply," she said. "I wanted the very best for him."

Fitzsimmons said he expects to sell one Woodland mausoleum a year for the next 10 years.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/neighbors/2007/04/26/ddn042607z7familyplots.html