Cemetery responsibility?? **update at top**

[snarlingcoyote]

Was the marker copper? It could have been stolen for scrap and sold...

That was my first thought. My FIL's WWII service marker was stolen for scrap metal, we think. Fortunately, the US Government will replace those. (We haven't installed the new one yet. It will be encased in a LARGE chunk of something else so it isn't as easily stolen!)

 

[snarlingcoyote]

We were told it was not the cemetary's responsibility unless they damaged the headstone. I doubt they would admit if they did though.

Our cemetary just had a rash of robberies. They were stealing urns and had broke into the Columbarium! I spent almost a week trying to track down info on whether or not my MIL was stolen Thank goodness she wasn't touched.

The police told me that they thought people were stealing them because loved ones are buried with personal items, like rings and things! He also said people sell the urns on ebay and craigslist.

What is the world coming to!

I think this is why my family encourages the local teenagers to think that our family cemetary is haunted. Way out in the country, no houses near by, and yet no vandalism!

 

[kaytieeldr]

As far as not contacting you, I don't think that most cemeteries keep "next-of-kin" contact lists for those buried there.

Um, well, the memorial park where one of my siblings is buried absolutely does - because I own the (double) plot and I hear from them several times a year.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I would hope that the cemetary workers would notice when they get stolen and the office at least be aware of it and reporting it to the police. I doubt that they take financial responsiblity in terms of replacing the marker, but I would hope that at the very least they care and show concern about it.

 

[merryweather20]

I would hope that the cemetary workers would notice when they get stolen and the office at least be aware of it and reporting it to the police. I doubt that they take financial responsiblity in terms of replacing the marker, but I would hope that at the very least they care and show concern about it.

This.

The lady's response should have been that they had already contacted the police, or to thank-you for calling so that she could call the police and send someone to look for any additional damage.


I appreciate the other posters note about not having contact inforation available, but their routine maintenance should be enough to pick up on major damage. Around here it would be posted in the local newspaper, then the families would walk over to the cemetary to check on their families plots. Homeowners insurance would cover newer plots and the cemetary has money set aside for older plots (80 years +). I can see in a larger city the papers not picking it up, but there is no excuse for not calling the police.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

If you look in my location to the left, you will note that I have a lot of first hand knowledge of grave lifting.

OP, so sorry this has happened to your family.

The cemetery behind me is huge and there are 6 total that stretch for miles. The workers would only notice a missing headstone if it was an upright. Those they lay flat to the ground would go unnoticed during normal maintenance and ground checks. At almost every entrance there is a sign that states the Cemetery is not responsible for lost, stolen, or broken items including grave markers.

Grave and GraveStone lifting is extremely common among teenagers and salvagers. Around halloween it is a common game to get certain born/death dates that match a given "list" on a scavenger hunt. Also, we have noticed certain ethnic groups who now have all out parties on the day of the burial, with many people around, music playing, etc. So there are definetely times when the groundskeeper's attention is diverted from other areas.

We do our best to call in any suspicious behavior, but with so many people using the cemetary as a pseudo park area (roller-blading, biking, drivers ed) it is hard to patrol.

Again, I am sorry this happened and that you can get a kinder response when you go back and hopefully will be able to replace the marker soon.

 

[Geoff_M]

Um, well, the memorial park where one of my siblings is buried absolutely does - because I own the (double) plot and I hear from them several times a year.

In your case, you're talking about an "owner's" list instead of a "next-of-kin" list. I would ceratinly hope they'd have records and info about who owns the plots.

 

[Kies99]

My Father-in-law is president of a local cemetery. It's an "open" cemetery: no fences, gates or person on duty. When you call the number you get him or one of 3 other guys on their cell phones.

I do know that responsibility for the marker would be on the family member(s) and not the cemetery. As previous posters have mentioned, the common grounds (street maintenance, lawn maintenance, etc...) is the responsibility of the cemetery, the markers are not.

Also, as the marker was flat to the ground, it highly likely that it was not noticed it was missing. At my FIL's cemetery, they have a service that cuts the grass so different people cut it at different times and they wouldn't know what to look for. Depending on how noticeable the marker was from the nearest road, when my FIL or one of the others drives through, they may not have seen it either.

Now that being said, if someone called my FIL with a similar situation, he would have been out at the cemetery to confirm the issue and asked the caller to meet him out there. He also would have called the police department and asked that they meet out there as well.