Improvements at cemetery leave headstones in the road


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CEDAR FORT, Utah County — Several residents in the small town of Cedar Fort are upset after finding some graves at the town’s cemetery may have been placed in the adjoining road.

“It’s a nice community cemetery,” said resident Kathie Richmond, whose parents and grandparents are buried there. “This is a beautiful cemetery and we’ve enjoyed it for years.”

However, the last time she visited there, she returned disappointed. She found her grandparents’ headstone is now partially in the road. She said it used to be about three feet from the gravel.

It turns out, town leaders recently had the road graded, which took away some grass.

“I just think that’s a lack of respect for the bodies that lay underneath that,” Richmond said. And she said she’s not the only one who's frustrated. A total of seven headstones are now partially in the road, with one entirely in the road.

“There is anger,” Richmond said. “I’ve seen a lot of anger in some people. Our family just wants a chance to have some input.”

"Our real intent and purpose was to just improve the roads,” said Cedar Fort Mayor J. Howard Anderson.

He said when the town was preparing to re-gravel the cemetery roads, they noticed the grass had spread a few feet into the roads over the past decades, making it tough to know where the actual roads were.

“Years ago, we let people dig their own grave,” Anderson said. “A lot of people in our town have backhoes and equipment. So we said, ‘Fine, save yourself the money. You dig the grave.’”

Photo: Mike DeBernardo, KSL TV
Photo: Mike DeBernardo, KSL TV

However, because the grass had grown into the road, some families didn't recognize the boundaries. Headstones, and maybe vaults, were unknowingly placed past the line.

Now, Anderson said families can leave headstones where they are; the road will just go around them.

“We won't force people and we’re certainly not going to do anything with the graves themselves. That’s just a no-brainer,” he said.

To prevent future problems, the city may start indicating exactly where the headstones go instead of letting families place them, Anderson said.

Photo: Mike DeBernardo, KSL TV
Photo: Mike DeBernardo, KSL TV

“We’re not trying to destroy things. We’re not trying to desecrate graves. We’re just trying to make it better,” he said.

Richmond said her family might decide to move her grandparents’ headstone off of the road, but they worry the casket may be under the road. She hopes town leaders hold off on any more work until they meet with families.

“We would just like to see it done right,” Richmond said.

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