Haven Casket and Monument brings granite headstones, flat markers, and custom cemetery monuments to Pickering families. Our team works from Markham, one city over, and sells factory direct. There is no funeral home in the middle, so the markup stays out of your price. We take care of the design, the cemetery paperwork, and the delivery, and we arrange the installation each cemetery requires.
Cemeteries We Serve in Pickering
Pickering has three active cemeteries, run by two different operators. The rules change with the operator, so it pays to know who runs your cemetery.
| Cemetery | Operator | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Duffin Meadows Cemetery | Mount Pleasant Group | 2505 Brock Road North |
| Erskine Cemetery | Dunbarton-Fairport United Church, operated with CemeCare | 886 Finch Avenue |
| Fairport Cemetery | Dunbarton-Fairport United Church, operated with CemeCare | 700 Liverpool Road |
Duffin Meadows opened in 1993 on former farmland, with a restored farmhouse as its office. It is nondenominational and offers flat marker sections, upright monument sections, and family lots. It also has a natural burial section where individual monuments are not permitted, and names are inscribed on shared central stones instead. Erskine and Fairport are church cemeteries, each licensed by the Bereavement Authority of Ontario, offering both flat markers and upright monuments under their bylaws. Some Pickering families also use cemeteries nearby in Ajax, such as Pine Ridge Memorial Gardens and the historic St. Francis de Sales Catholic cemetery. For plot pricing across the region, our GTA cemetery guide and Ontario cemetery map cover the wider picture.
Upright Monument or Flat Marker? The Rule Changes by Cemetery and Section
Your section decides your marker. Buy a lot in a flat marker section and an upright stone is off the table, no matter what you order. So the first question we ask is always the same: which cemetery, and which section?
| Operator | Upright monument | Flat or bronze marker | Who builds the foundation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Pleasant Group (Duffin Meadows) | Allowed in monument sections and family lots | Required in flat marker sections | The cemetery only pours the foundation and installs, at the family’s cost, after the design is approved. No individual monuments in the natural burial section |
| Dunbarton-Fairport United Church (Erskine, Fairport) | Allowed under the cemetery bylaws | Allowed under the cemetery bylaws | Foundations and marker setting are handled exclusively by CemeCare, which operates these cemeteries for the church, with fees on the posted price list |
Duffin Meadows follows the Mount Pleasant Group bylaws we work with across the GTA. The cemetery approves your design, pours the foundation at your expense, and sets the monument. Your stone still comes from a provider like Haven. At Erskine and Fairport, CemeCare does the ground work, and the Care and Maintenance contribution required by Ontario law is paid before a marker goes in. We sort out whose rules apply before any design work starts.
Ontario law requires every cemetery to hand you its bylaws and price list before you sign. The province’s rules live at the Bereavement Authority of Ontario, and the Mount Pleasant Group publishes its cemetery bylaws in full.
Cemetery Foundation Fees in Pickering
Plan for a foundation fee on top of the monument price at most Pickering lots. An upright monument needs a concrete base to stay level through our freeze and thaw cycles, and the cemeteries usually charge for that work separately. Some sections differ: certain single graves at Erskine come with a foundation already in place. Two things to know going in:
- The cemetery side builds the foundation, sized to your monument’s base. We do not pour it.
- Where a foundation fee applies, it and the legally required Care and Maintenance contribution go to the cemetery. Your plot payment buys the interment right and little else.
Design approval comes before delivery at both operators. We prepare the drawings, submit them, and book the foundation once the cemetery signs off. For current plot and foundation costs across the region, see the GTA cemetery guide.
Winter and Seasonal Installation in Pickering
Frozen ground stops foundation work every winter, in Pickering as everywhere in the GTA. Cemeteries hold monument installations until the spring thaw. The Ontario Monument Builders Association makes the practical point: order in winter, install in spring. A winter order means your design and engraving are finished and waiting when the season opens.
How Our Pickering Process Works
- Design and quote. Granite colour, shape, inscription. One direct price, no funeral home markup.
- Cemetery approval. We confirm which operator’s rules apply and file the design for approval.
- Engraving in Markham. The stone is designed and engraved in Markham.
- Foundation and installation. The cemetery or CemeCare builds the base. We deliver the monument and arrange the setting.
What Is Included With Every Monument
Design help, granite, engraving and artwork, cemetery delivery, and installation coordination come standard. Granite is named properly: black, grey, Paradiso, Bahama Blue, Indian Red, and more. Explore the range on our headstones and upright monuments page, weigh the flat markers and bronze markers, or go fully custom.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you deliver headstones and monuments to Pickering cemeteries?
Yes. From Markham we deliver granite headstones, flat markers, and custom monuments to Duffin Meadows, Erskine, and Fairport, and we arrange the setting each cemetery requires. Cemeteries nearby in Ajax are covered too.
Can I place an upright headstone at Duffin Meadows?
In the monument sections and family lots, yes. Flat marker sections take only flush markers, and the natural burial section allows no individual monuments at all. We check your section before designing.
Who installs the monument at a Pickering cemetery?
The cemetery side handles it. Mount Pleasant Group staff pour the foundation and set monuments at Duffin Meadows. CemeCare does that work at Erskine and Fairport. Haven supplies the monument, delivers it, and coordinates the rest.
Is the foundation included in the monument price?
Usually not. At most lots the cemetery side charges for the foundation separately, along with the Care and Maintenance contribution Ontario law requires before a marker is installed. A few sections, such as certain single graves at Erskine, come with a foundation already in place. We confirm what applies and book it all for you.
Do you offer direct pricing to Pickering families?
Yes. Monuments are designed and engraved in Markham and sold direct, so Pickering families keep the funeral home markup in their pocket.
Start Your Pickering Monument Design
Bring us the cemetery name and section. We confirm the rules, draw the design, and quote it direct. Call 905-604-7555 or begin in our monument designer.