Due to allegations of financial mismanagement, three cemeteries in the Bay Area and one in Fresno have been ordered to shut down.
These include Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, Skyview Memorial Lawn in Vallejo, Chapel of the Light in Fresno, and Mount Tamalpais Cemetery and Mortuary in San Rafael.
Community members are bewildered and anxious about what will happen next as a result of the statement. But according to some, they have been worried about operations for some time.
At San Rafael’s Mount Tamalpais Cemetery and Mortuary, some residents claim they’re becoming more concerned about appearances.
“I just went in to find my mother and great grandmother and I couldn’t find them. There are just weeds over everything,” Visiting from Boise, Idaho, Sydney Durkovich said.
Brieze Bell, who lives close to the cemetery, stated, “During the summer months, it does gets quite brown and dry and that raises concerns for our community about fire safety.”
The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, a division of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, issued a cease-and-desist order on Monday to Mount Tamalpais Cemetery and Mortuary and three other memorial sites owned by the same company.
According to state inspectors, the facility’s owner and operator neglected to properly maintain it and mismanaged cash. Mount Tamalpais Cemetery was ordered to cease operations.
“I think there’s a lot of confusion,” Bell stated.
“I hope they don’t close it. The county needs it. Besides, I have family members up here. What are they going to do? Are they going to move them?,” San Rafael resident Gary Peak stated.
The cemetery and morgue are still operational, according to Funeral Director Jack Thornton. According to him, the cemetery’s operations have been suspended.
“The gates are open. We’re talking to people,” Thornton remarked. “The only thing a cease-and-desist is we can’t open any graves right now.”
We contacted Buck Kamphausen, the cemetery owner, via telephone and inquired about the claims that he misused endowment monies.
“We haven’t mismanaged funds. Most everything they put out, right from the start is a lie,” Kamphausen stated. “We are appealing their ruling.”
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Regarding individuals who are worried about the well-being of their departed loved ones at the cemetery, either now or the future:
“They still will be taken care of. That’s what we’re trying to do is try and get things taken care of so we can maintain this– open and closing graves. We’ll go back to operating. You just got this thing in between the Department of Consumer Affairs is sitting on the money to operate on,” Thornton stated.
Source: abc7news
