St. John's Cemetery

This July 11, 1984  Certificate of Sale to Dorothy Madigan.  For Sec. A Range 8, Lot 29. 

Size is 10 x 3 1/2  for 1 Grave.

Back of receipt shows diagram where Grave #1 would be Dorothy's with #2 and #3 Lot 30 in name of Joseph E. Madigan.

The 3 lots directly in front of these 3 belong to Madigan/ Schroder. The first grave is where our mother was buried in October of 1983. The adjoining 2 graves are for me and Dave.

The list of Regulations on the Certificate of Sale numbers 9. Regulation # 5 states, "No person shall have a right to make any changes, repairs, renovations, cut grass, or do any work whatsoever on any lot...All work shall be done by cemetery employees, or ...by persons receiving our approval.Arrangements for work of any kind must be made at the Rectory."

Regulation #7."The Pastor reserves the right to remedy or to remove if necessary anything that becomes an impediment or impairs the general welfare or appearance of the Cemetery."

The paperwork for Section A, Range 8, Lot 29 also  states "The required corner posts are the m/s Posts which will mark the whole lot."  That would be the 3 graves-Ma's, Dave's and mine. Those posts were there at one time, but I can no longer find them. Some  may have been destroyed or buried by the lawn care equipment. But I know when they open an adjoining grave-site, they are so sparing of real estate that they come close to and expose the bordering graves. The bronze posts may well fall into the newly opened burial sites. I suppose a few of the 4 could be buried in the grass.

What is disturbing to me is the flagrant violation of the Cemetery Regulations by the gravesite shown in the previous pictures, and the Cemetery's unwillingness to enforce those regulations. It seems that some of the tattered remains of an attempt at marking the family plot has intruded into the physical space of our plot. Which would be on the foot of our mother's grave.