OKC Cremation Garden Uses Apps, GPS To Locate Loved Ones

A first of its kind, a cremation garden that uses GPS units and mobile device apps to locate buried loved ones. It's called Reflection Pointe Gardens in Oklahoma City.

After a loved one is cremated and their ashes are placed inside an urn, that urn is then buried underground where technology helps locate the exact spot.

Far from your average burial, Reflection Pointe Gardens looks nothing like a cemetery.

"That's what makes us different, we don't have monuments, so when you drive by, you're going to see a park," said owner Brad Whinery. "We want some place where people can come and be uplifted, not be depressed."

It opened late December and it's already creating a buzz. To locate loved ones, you can use a microchip detector that provides the section, the lot and the plot number. There's also a GPS system, a tape measure and the Reflection Pointe mobile App.

"Like Mapquest, it'll locate the very spot, and you'll just walk right to it," Whinery said.

The 8-acre garden has been the brainchild of second-generation funeral director Brad Whinery for 12 years. So far, about a quarter million people's ashes can be buried on site. There are several areas to choose from including inside a statuesque granite wall by the waterfall or inside a gold and silver communal vault with a rotating top.

There is even a place for Pets.

"A lot of people don't have children, but they do have 4 legged-grandchildren, so we're hoping that those people would like to be buried with their pets.”

With ample walkways and a private garden, Reflection Pointe is definitely something to think about for a final resting place. It has burials ranging from $95 up to $3000 to be in the wall near the waterfall.

“It was a novelty 30 years ago to keep the ashes, and today, you don't just have one person on the shelf, you've got 4 or 5, and with cremations on the rise in the country, we think more people will like this idea,” Whinery said.