Economy putting financial crunch on cemeteries

By Tim Krohn

MANKATO — Going to the Great Beyond on a budget is affecting the maintenance funds of cemetery associations and the bottom lines of funeral homes.

“It’s still a viable business, but with shrinking profits, like most everything else,” said Tom Samuelson, owner of Woodland Hills in Mankato.

“The economy definitely is affecting both the funeral home and cemetery,” he said.

“Most cemeteries are facing a financial crunch just like other businesses,” said Ron Gjerde, director of the Minnesota Association of Cemeteries. “In good times, people will come to the cemetery and want to purchase their lots on a pre-need basis, but now they might put that off.”

Last week at Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato volunteers spent time assembling more than 100 wreaths that were ordered by families with loved ones in the cemetery.

“We’re using volunteers more,” said Judy Johnson, officer manager at Glenwood. “We contract for grave digging and mowing, but everything else, like raking, is from volunteers.”

While she said Glenwood’s finances are fine, Johnson said it’s always a struggle for cemetery associations to get the money to keep things looking good.

Gjerde said state law requires that any cemetery of more than 10 acres must put at least 20 percent of all lot sales into a permanent care fund. Only interest from those funds can be used for maintenance.

“Cemeteries invested in stocks and bonds, like everyone else, have been hit pretty hard,” Gjerde said.

Sally Peterson, secretary of the Minneopa Cemetery Association, said that while their maintenance budget also is keeping up with needs, revenues are down.

“Property sales and burials are down because of the economy.”

Lot sales are down for two reasons: Cremation remains are either not buried or buried in smaller, less expensive lots; and pre-sales of lots are off.

“If it’s not an at-need situation, a cemetery plot isn’t a high priority with people right now,” Peterson said.

Samuelson said the increase in cremations has had the most effect on revenues for funeral homes and cemeteries.

“People are looking at cremation as a less expensive alternative. The rates have been going up in recent years anyway, but it’s accelerated — people are worried about the economy,” Samuelson said.

Part of the increase in cremations is due to greater acceptance among major religions that once shunned the idea.

Samuelson said that when John F. Kennedy Jr.’s family chose to cremate his remains after he was killed in a plane crash in 1999, the acceptance of cremation grew.

“For traditional Catholic families, they thought if it’s OK for one of the leading Catholic families in the country, it’s OK for them,” Samuelson said.

Mankato has two crematoriums, one at Woodland Hills and one operated jointly by Landkamer’s and Mankato Mortuary at Glenwood Cemetery.

Because the law considers cremation a final disposition of a body, loved ones are free to keep the cremains in an urn, spread them or bury them where they wish.

Cemetery association has area ties
The Minnesota Association of Cemeteries has its roots in south-central Minnesota. Carl Hagger of Blue Earth and others were concerned that there were no provisions for permanent care of many rural Minnesota cemeteries.

In 1923, he and others contacted Minneapolis and St. Paul cemetery superintendents seeking advice and, “Asking them if they would cooperate with us, if we, from the country districts could come up there for a school of instruction,” Hagger wrote in a history of the association. “The Twin City Cemetery men were very courteous and offered to do anything within their power to perfect an organization whereby the cemetery officials may get together and exchange ideas.”

In 1924, the first state cemetery association meeting was held and Hans Mo of Sleepy Eye was elected the first president. Hagger would later become president.