Cemetery Sexton Responds To Greenfield Resident's Burial Plot Concerns
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Greenfield resident Bill Etherton is wanting to sell burial lots to the public at more than the price his mother purchased them for in the 1930s.
His mother, a Warsaw native, purchased eight burial lots at Oakwood Cemetery in 1930 for $10 each. Four of the lots have since been used.
Etherton had hoped to sell the remaining four lots for $200 each, not $10 each that was paid in the 1930s.
Etherton and his wife live in Greenfield and will not use the lots, so Etherton wanted to sell the lots to people in the community who would be interested in purchasing them.
However, during Thursday night’s Oakwood Cemetery Board of Regents meeting, Hal Heagy, cemetery sexton, said the cemetery established rules in 1955 that say people can only sell lots back to the cemetery and are prohibited from selling them to the community.
That means Etherton could only sell the lots for $10 each back to the cemetery.
Rules also state lots can only be sold for the purchase price.
Heagy said people cannot privately sell burial lots, but can gift the lots with a notarized letter that must be given to the cemetery office. The letter must state who the lot is being gifted to and the burial location.
“People selling lots to the community opens a can of worms not only money wise but as far as not knowing who is being buried where in the cemetery,” Heagy said.
Heagy showed board members a personals ad Etherton ran in the Times-Union advertising to the community he was selling four burial lots.
Heagy said it is not allowed for anyone to sell the lots to the public.
Heagy said he and city attorney Mike Valentine have been in contact with Etherton to inform him of the city’s rules.
In other business, Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer swore in new board member Kevin Planck.
Planck will serve as the board’s vice president, and replaces Warren Tatter, who resigned from the board due to health reasons.
Warren served on the board from Feb. 1, 1984, to Thursday. Tatter did not attend Thursday’s meeting, and a plaque will be presented to him for his service at a later time.
Planck joins board president Lewis Dobbins and board members Ellen Hoffer and Don Bixel.
During the meeting, the board heard there were 20 burials in August, 16 lots sold and the board signed 12 burial deeds.
Heagy said he will work with Tony Lloyd, Patten Monument, to review emblems that are allowed on columbariums in the cemetery.
Heagy said the cemetery needs to make sure there are more options for emblems.
