You might walk past a grave and see a beautiful bouquet of flowers and think “Those would look good in my living room,” but (we’re hoping) you don’t follow through on the impulse for free flora. However, one florist has been accused of repeatedly stealing plants and flowers from local grave sites. [More]
cemeteries
Cemetery’s New Owners Ban Mourners From Visiting Graves
By 10.13.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
Allowing mourners to visit the graves of their dearly departed might seem like the sole function of a cemetery, but that is exactly what the new owners of a graveyard in Pennsylvania don’t want happening on their property. [More]
Cemetery Issues Rules Of The Road For Bicyclists Who Might Not Realize They’re Being Jerks
By 7.20.15
Although cemeteries might be an ideal spot for bicyclists seeking long paths and little traffic, one cemetery in Indiana has had to ban bikes from the grounds after a series of incidents. Because for many, having a bicycle racing past while you’re trying to give your loved one a final good-bye isn’t an ideal situation. [More]
Cemetery Workers Won’t Stop Calling And Asking For Man Whose Ashes Have Been Interred There For 4 Years
By 3.26.15
It’s one thing to be annoyed by telemarketers who just don’t know when to quit. But it’s a hassle that shouldn’t follow you (or your loved ones) into the afterlife. The longtime partner of a man who died of lung cancer in 2010 says though his loved one was cremated and interred at a local cemetery, workers from that same cemetery keep calling the house and asking for the dead man by name. [More]
For Sale: Cemetery Plot. Slightly Used
By 11.3.14
When you move away or need cash, it’s a good idea to get rid of any local property that you no longer need or want. For some families, that includes the deeds to unused cemetery plots in faraway graveyards. Or slightly used cemetery plots. [More]
Buying A Home Near A Cemetery Will Cost You More Because Everyone Likes Quiet Neighbors
By 10.31.13
While we know it might be a waste of time and money to buy a famous haunted house, how about a home that just so happens to be situated near an area traditional linked to haunting? Snapping up a quiet property near a cemetery actually costs more per square foot than purchasing a home near rowdier neighbors than folks gone by. [More]
Family Sues Cemetery Because It Shouldn't Be A Mystery Where Your Loved One Is Buried
By 9.18.12
A Texas widow already had to deal with saying goodbye to her beloved husband of 56 years and now? She doesn’t even have the comfort of knowing where exactly his final resting place is. She’s suing the cemetery that buried him in order to get confirmation of his location, because at first the cemetery told the family they’d have to pay up if they wanted that information. [More]
Oops, We Buried Someone Else In Your Mom’s Gravesite
By 7.20.12
A woman in Florida was recently visiting her father’s grave when she noticed there was something amiss with the burial plot reserved for her mother — someone was already buried in it. [More]
Cemetery: You Paid For The Crypt But You Didn’t Pay For Us To Put You In it
By 7.16.12
A couple in New Jersey thought they had made the final payment on their prepaid funeral arrangements 30 years ago. That is, until the cemetery called to tell them they still owed more than $2,000 if they ever hoped to actually be entombed in the crypt they had purchased. [More]
It's A Buyer's Market For Burial Plots
By 7.22.10
Sure, it’s maybe a bit morbid to think about buying your cemetery plot now, when you’re so young and healthy and, you know, breathing. But burial expenses are, well, expensive; that’s why you see all those ads for “life insurance” advertised to old people on daytime TV. So if you’re looking now to save a bit of cash for you or your loved ones’ eternal resting places, you might want to consider snapping up your patch of ground now. [More]
Sorry, We Already Buried A Lady Next To Your Husband
By 6.7.10
The last place you want to find The Other Woman is on her back next to your husband. Especially when he’s dead. A woman named Lillas Hawkins in California found just that when she went to visit her husband’s grave two weeks ago. When she pointed out the error to a cemetery worker, she says he responded, “We are in terrible trouble.” The cemetery is owned by a company named Dignity. [More]
Congressman Introduces Bill To Oversee Cemeteries
By 9.22.09
Remember Burr Oak this past summer? That was the Chicago cemetery that dug up bodies and resold the graves to new customers. Well, yesterday a U.S. Representative from Illinois introduced the Bereaved Consumers Protection Act, a bill that would standardize record-keeping, make cemeteries accountable to federal officials as well as state, and protect consumers from shady business practices.
$300K Grave-Recycling Scam In Chicago
By 7.10.09
Historically, it’s not unheard of to dig up graves, move bones to a different site, and re-use those graves. It only becomes problematic when cemetery staff take it upon themselves to re-use cemetery plots already bought, paid for, and occupied, and dump the occupants in a pile of weeds out back. That’s what employees of a historic black cemetery in Chicago did.
Save Money On A Funeral
By 3.6.09 — Updated: 5.29.13
Someone wrote to us this week that a person in his family is terminally ill, and that he was told “that the cost of the casket, funeral, viewing, and burial would possibly exceed 12,000 dollars.” He thinks that’s an “exorbitant amount of money,” and so do we. There is no reason to pay that much money for a kick-ass funeral that people will be talking about for years to come. You don’t need to be a cheapskate to manage this, either—you just need to be aware of your rights and know what traps to watch out for. Here’s our list of what to do the next time you have to plan a funeral.
