POLICIES of WILLS CEMETERY ASSOCIATION INC

21825 S. Thorngrove Road; P O Box 84

Peculiar, MO 64078

The following shall be the governing Policies of the Wills Cemetery Association Inc:

OWNERSHIP

Gravesite: A gravesite is a defined space for the burial of human remains only. A gravesite may contain one vault burial and one inurnment, or two inurnments. The Wills Cemetery will allow burial of two infants with prior approval by the Assoc. The dimension of all gravesites is 4 feet wide North and South and 10 feet long East and West. The distance between monuments is 15 feet, so when visiting the Wills Cemetery, visitors are not walking on a grave if walking in front of a monument.

Evidence of Ownership: Ownership of each gravesite as reflected in the Associations records, shall be evidenced by a Certificate of Ownership, which shall be in written form, signed by the President and Secretary of the Association, and which shall designate the gravesite by identifying locators referencing locations specified on the Association’s Record Plat of gravesites by Lot, Row or Block and Grave. The Secretary shall affix the Association’s Seal to the Certificate.

Replacement Certificate of Ownership: If a Certificate of Ownership is missing or destroyed, a member of the family of the Record Owner may, by affidavit, establish the rightful ownership of the gravesite, whereupon the Association will issue a Replacement Certificate of Ownership, which shall be and remain subject to superior claims of ownership until the gravesite is used for burial.

Record Plat of Gravesites: The Association shall maintain, at the Association’s principal business location, a written Plat of Gravesites, drawn to appropriate scale, upon which each gravesite shall be clearly identified by its location.

Owner of Record: The Association shall maintain a written record of ownership, whether acquired by original purchase from the Association or subsequent transfer from a prior owner, of each gravesite, listing the owner of record for each gravesite after its initial purchase from the Association.

Transfer of Ownership: Each owner of a gravesite may relinquish his rights of ownership to another, by gift, sale or inheritance. Evidence of such transfer of ownership shall be reflected in the Association’s Record of Ownership upon its receipt of notification in writing to the Association of such transfer. Upon surrender of the transferor’s certificate of ownership, the Association shall issue a new certificate of ownership to the transferee. If no original deed or certificate of ownership is returned, the transfer will be noted in the Association record. Under specified circumstances, the Wills Cemetery may purchase gravesites from owners when owner’s circumstances have changed.

Gravesite Sales: Gravesites are sold to individuals, not entities. Gravesites are not sold for the purpose of resale. The Cemetery Association reserves the right to limit the number of Gravesites sold to an individual or family or business.

BURIAL

Containment: Each burial shall be in a graveliner or urn approved by the Association. Remains must be interred within the boundaries of a gravesite. The Wills Cemetery is not responsible for preparation and/or interment of cremation burials. Families will be allowed to prepare the site or they should contact the funeral home for assistance. Interred remains cannot be moved or removed without knowledge and/or permission of the Wills Cemetery Board representative.

Marking: Each gravesite will be located and marked by the Association prior to excavation. A marking fee of $100 will be charged to the funeral home at time of burial. The Association is not responsible for errors in the location of gravesite not marked by the Association.

MONUMENTS

Monument Style and Materials: Permanent monuments must be made of granite or bronze. Monuments can be flat to the ground or stand vertically. Homemade, wooden or other temporary monuments are not allowed. Temporary monuments placed by the funeral home at time of burial are allowed, but should be replaced with a permanent granite or bronze monument as soon as possible. Gravestones cannot be placed until the gravesite is paid for. Monuments set in error not marked by the Association shall be moved at the owner’s expense. Existing gravestones cannot be moved unless marked by the Cemetery.

Monument Placement Guidelines: The location of a burial and monument must be marked by the Association prior to the digging for a burial or placement of a monument. All monuments must be placed within the area purchased. All monuments shall be placed at the head of the gravesite in line with any existing monuments in the same row. All types of gravesite markers, such as benches, shall be placed at the head of a gravesite where a monument would normally be placed and adhere to the guidelines referenced in this policy.

Single Monuments: Single monuments shall be centered on the gravesite. The gravesite is 4 feet or 48 inch wide therefore, a monument and base cannot be more than 42 inches wide.

Companion Monuments: A companion monument shall be centered on the line between the two gravesites. Two gravesites when measured together are 96 inches wide, therefore, a monument centered on two gravesites cannot be more than 90 inches wide.

Ledgers: Ledgers shall be centered on the gravesite with the front of the ledger on the line at the head of the gravesite.

Footstones: Each gravesite can also have a footstone. Footstones shall be centered on the foot of the grave and must be flat with the ground and be less then 3″ in height above the ground.

Any deviations from this policy must be approved in writing by the board of directors.

DAMAGES

The association will not be responsible for the leveling of monuments that have settled or damage to monuments, statuary and other tributes, whether due to vandalism, negligence of others, or care-taking or routine association maintenance.

MAINTENANCE

The Association will provide the following routine care:

Mowing and maintenance of plantings installed by the Association.
New gravesites will be leveled and seeded after settlement has occurred, and sunken gravesites will be leveled and reseeded as required.
Floral arrangements will be removed from gravesites two weeks after burial.
Floral arrangements will be removed from gravesites two weeks after Memorial Day.
Floral arrangements and Miscellaneous Item on Gravesites:

No live plantings such as roses, geraniums, shrubs, etc. should be planted on gravesites. Potted plants, cared for by others, are allowed on shepherd hooks, but potted plants placed around gravesites are only allowed during Memorial Day observances.
Shepherd hooks are allowed within 6 inches of the monument.
Small trinkets and objects that are loose, ornamental, ceramic, etc. are not allowed and will be removed.
Floral arrangement must be in vases that are permanently mounted to the monument.
Floral stems should not be stuck in the ground in front or around the monument other than one week before and two weeks after Memorial Day.

SECURITY and SAFETY

Security lights will operate from dusk to dawn. The Cemetery grounds are fenced and access is prohibited from dusk to dawn. The Board of Directors has the right to remove from any gravesite without permission from the owner and without notice any trees, bushes or any other objects that the board believes could cause injuries or could detract from the appearance of overall cemetery grounds. Ceramic, glass, plastic, wooden and metal objects can break and deteriorate and therefore become a safety issues for the maintenance crew. Please do not place those items on monuments or on the ground surrounding the monuments.

FEES AND OTHER CHARGES

The Cemetery has established the cost per gravesite, effective March 1, 2020, to be $650 for cash or checks, $675 if paying by credit or debit card. After a funeral home notifies the Wills Cemetery regarding a pending burial, the Cemetery will invoice the funeral home for a “marking” fee of $100. effective March 1, 2020. This “marking” fee will reimburse the Association for work related to the official locating of the gravesite, as well as the official locating of the monument, which may be placed at a later date.

The Association will provide maintenance to existing gravesites, gravesites held for future use and common grounds. The Association depends upon its fundraising activities and the generosity of family and friends who give of their time and money in the protection and preservation of the cemetery. The Association also reserves the right to recover damages caused by the negligent actions of persons entering the premises of the cemetery.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Larry L. Dobson, President: 816-331-2888

Scott Dobson: 816-935-1373

Kenny Carter, Vice President: 816-588-2910

Brandon Barber: 816-405-0948

Kathy Carter, Secretary, Historian: 816-729-6689

Kevin Mullen: 816-520-1348

Kate Krabiel, Treasurer: 816-830-3555

Cheryl Schmidt: 816-914-0148

Gary Krabiel: 816-215-3421

Debbie McDaniels: 816-986-7311

Jack Reid: 816-536-6301

Steve Yocum: 816-769-5989

Revisions

Revision # 11, Feb. 26, 2024