The O’Fallon Cemetery is owned and operated by the City of O’Fallon, Illinois.
Rules & Regulations
Amended 2005
The O’Fallon Cemetery is owned and operated by the City of O' Fallon, Illinois since July 1949.
Care of Lots
All lots are sold under the Perpetual Care Fund set up for that purpose.
I. Rules Concerning Lots and Lot Owners
1. No lot shall be used for any other purpose than as a place of burial for human remains. The grade of all lots shall be determined by the Director of the Parks and Recreation Department.
2. Heirs or assigns of lot owners must prove their rights to the satisfaction of the City Clerk before their orders for interments will be accepted. Lot owners may dispose of their lots by will, subject to the rules of the Cemetery; otherwise ownership and the right to give orders for burial shall follow according to the laws of the descent of the State of Illinois.
3. All monuments or headstones are subject to the approval of the Director of the Parks and Recreation Department whose duty it shall be to see that all foundations are made substantial and according to the Rules and Regulations already existing and such as may be adopted from time to time for the management of the cemetery.
4. No markers or monuments shall be placed in the cemetery except in accordance with the Rules and Regulations with respect thereto as shown on the plat of the cemetery on file with the Clerk’s office.
5. Wooden or iron fences, copings, posts connected with bars, hedges, hanging baskets, and shepherd hooks are prohibited. Due to grounds maintenance, only flower vases may be inserted into the ground.
6. Lot owners shall not have the right to plant trees, shrubs, flowers or plants on their lots.
7. If any structure or any inscription be placed in or upon any lot which shall be determined by the Director of the Parks and Recreation Department to be not in accordance with the cemetery regulations and to be offensive, improper or injurious to the surrounding lots or ground, the said Department shall have the right and duty to enter upon such lot and remove or cause the removal of the said offensive or improper objects. The Director of the Parks and Recreation Department also reserves the right to remove anything offensive from graves and lots.
8. Picking flowers and cutting sods is strictly prohibited. Owners may decorate their graves observing the Rules and Regulations of the cemetery and shall remove all rubbish to the place designated for the purpose. Flowers must be removed by March 1st. Flowers remaining after this date will be discarded.
9. No interments shall be made, nor shall any work be done on any lot on which unpaid charges are due for work done upon it.
10. Orders for disinterment or removals will be taken by the Cemetery Contact in the City Clerk’s office.
11. Do not place unsightly objects made of wood, wire, tin, glass, etc. on your grave. These objects become defaced or unsightly and will be removed according to the rules.
II. Rules for Visitors
1. Fast or reckless driving is not allowed on the grounds. Automobiles and trucks are not allowed to leave the roads.
2. All persons are prohibited from picking any flowers or breaking any tree, shrub or plant. No flowers or shrubs can be taken from the grounds except by a written permit from the caretaker.
3. All persons are prohibited from writing upon, defacing, or injuring any monument, enclosure or structure in or belonging to the cemetery.
4. The caretaker and assistants are instructed to prohibit any person disturbing the quiet and good order of the cemetery by noise or other improper conduct, or found violating any rules, will be compelled to leave the grounds instantly. Discharging firearms or fireworks is strictly prohibited, except for military funerals or patriotic services.
5. Gardeners are not allowed at any time to solicit orders on the cemetery grounds.
6. The caretaker and assistants are charged to see that all Rules and Regulations are observed, that persons found damaging any property on the cemetery are held to restore such to its former condition, and that all violators are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
7. Any further information will be cheerfully furnished by the caretaker of the Cemetery and the Parks and Recreation Department.
III. Rules and Regulations Concerning the Purchase and Transfer of Lots
1. Persons desiring to purchase lots should call the office of the City Clerk at City Hall where information about lots and prices may be obtained. The Cemetery Contact will upon receipt of the price of the lot in full, issue the deed signed by the Mayor and enter the same on the records, after which an order for interment may be at any time procured. No lot shall be considered as sold nor shall any interment be made thereon until the price of the lot has been paid.
2. Lots may be sold to husband and wife, but otherwise no single lot will be sold or deeded to more than one person.
3. Owners can transfer their lots only by applying to the Clerk’s Office at the City Hall. A charge will be assessed for all transfers. In case of the death of a lot owner, the heir should call the Clerk’s office at City Hall and have the proper entries made on the records. The same should be done if lot owners change their name.
IV. Rules and Regulations Concerning Funeral Directors and Interments
1. Funeral directors must give forty-eight (48) hours notice of all funerals to allow for timely grave opening and to avoid the necessity of opening graves on Sunday. They must give dimensions of outside receptacle and state the hour when the funeral will arrive at the cemetery. For an interment in a private lot, the exact location of the grave must be stated. Funeral directors will be held responsible for damage, loss of time or labor caused by them in giving the wrong information to the Cemetery Contact. Funerals will not be attended between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. unless notice to that effect has been given beforehand. Notice of funerals may be given and orders for opening graves may be obtained by funeral directors at the City Hall between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
2. Graves will be opened on the order of funeral directors and lot owners, but no interment will be made without the proper certificate from the Board of Health. Parties claiming burial in private lots must prove their ownership by showing their deed and, if they are not the owners or their legal heirs, they must file a written order signed by the owner(s) or the legal representative(s).
V. Special Rules Concerning Interments
1. One interment only should be made in any one grave.
2. Burial of bodies, babies, limbs or ashes in a wooden container is not permitted. Outside container must be concrete or a vault, except for babies up to one year of age.
3. In order to avoid confusion, the caretaker and/or assistants shall be in charge of all funerals from the time they enter the cemetery. Processions shall follow designated routes and automobiles shall be parked as they are directed. Drivers or chauffeurs must not block the roads with their vehicles nor indulge in loud talking. The funeral directors will be held responsible for their (drivers/chauffeurs) conduct.
4. As of July 1, 1995 regarding interments consisting of cremated remains, cemetery policy will allow up to two cremated urns in a single grave space. Each cremated remains will be in its’ own container (urn) for burial. Monuments placed for such double interments must meet the specified regulations for the cemetery section in which the burial takes place. Two names will be allowed on such monuments. In no instances will two separate monuments be allowed.
5. Burial of one cremain may be interred with a full single burial in a single grave. Monuments placed for such double interments must meet the specified regulations for the cemetery section in which the burial takes place. The two names will be allowed on such monuments. In no instance will two separate monuments be permitted.
6. The Cemetery permits the burial of one parent/child interment in the same grave space and same casket. The Director of the Parks and Recreation Department reserves the right to approve every parent/child burial on an individual basis, depending on the size and age of the deceased. The general guideline will be a parent and a child under the age of two years. Monument regulations are the same as for any other burial in the particular section. Two names will be allowed on such monuments.
VI. Rules for Stone Men, Marble Cutters, etc.
All employees for stonework, erecting monuments, etc. are subject to the authority of the caretaker of the cemetery, who will ensure that such work is done according to the rules. The caretaker will give specific specifications for foundations for monuments, headstones, blankets, mausoleums, etc. The employees of the cemetery will build all foundations in early spring or late fall depending on weather conditions. Contractors violating the rules or not paying their bills promptly for foundations will not be permitted to work in the cemetery. All employees are prohibited from injuring any tree or shrub, or from scattering material over adjacent lots, or leaving the same on the grounds any longer than necessary. They must confine themselves to the lot for which they are engaged and such additional limits as may be
assigned. They must remove all chips and rubbish to the place designated for that purpose.
VII. Rules and Regulations Concerning Improvements
1. Persons decorating lots or doing any kind of work on the Cemetery must remove all rubbish to the place designated for that purpose.
2. If branches of trees extend over monuments or enclosures, such monuments may, in case of rain during the bloom of trees, receive temporary stains. These stains are harmless as they will be washed away by subsequent showers and cannot be admitted as justifying demands for cutting down tree branches or trees, which are an important feature of a beautiful cemetery.
VIII. Suggestions
1. The Cemetery rules are not made to interfere with your rights; they are imposed to protect the interest of all lot owners and to promote general harmony to the benefit of all.
2. Ensure that you notify the office of the City Clerk if you inherit a lot or wish to transfer ownership. An order for internment could be delayed or denied, if the records do not reflect the true ownership.
IX. Monuments
Section A is laid out as companion (2-grave) lots. Grave markers of granite for single graves shall be 24 inches in length, 12 inches in width and a maximum height of 18 inches. For double graves, marker shall be 36 inches in length, 12 inches in width, and a maximum of 18 inches in height. Foundations shall be a depth of at least 36 inches with an apron of 4 inches on each side of the granite marker and shall be flush with the ground. This rule shall not apply to government markers.
Bronze markers for single graves shall be 24 inches in length and 14 inches in width. Double grave markers shall be 36 inches in length and 14 inches in width. Foundations shall be of a depth of at least 30 inches with an apron of at least 2 inches on each side of the bronze marker.
All lots of Sections B, D, E, F, and G and 50 lots of Section C are to be laid out as per plat to be family lots in sets of two. The family monument should be placed in the center against the north line. Any other marker must be individual grass (flat) markers.
The maximum size of foundations for Sections B and C shall be 74 inches long and 26 inches wide with depth to the bottom of the grave. The maximum size of the base shall by 66 inches in length, 18 inches in width and 12 inches in height. The maximum size of die shall be 60 inches in length, 12 inches in width, and 36 inches in overall height.
The minimum size of foundation in Sections B and C shall be 44 inches long and 20 inches wide with a depth to the bottom of the grave. The minimum size to die shall be 30 inches long, 6 inches wide at base, and 3 inches wide at the top with 18 inches in height. Grave markers shall be of granite or bronze, 24 inches long by 14 inches wide and shall be placed even with the round. The minimum vertical thickness of the granite marker shall be 4 inches and lain on a one (1) inch bed of sand. Lots numbered 11, 12, 33, 34, 55, 56, 75, 77, 78, 95, 96, 97, 115, 116, 117, 118, 135, 136, 137, 138, 155 and 156 in Section C are to be divided into single grave spaces. Only grass (flat) markers are permitted.
In Sections D, E, F, and G, only granite or bronze head markers can be placed at the north line of the lots. Head markers are to be 24 inches long by 14 inches wide and placed even with the ground. Minimum vertical thickness of granite markers is to be 4 inches and lain on a one (1) inch bed of sand. Bronze markers are to be imbedded in 4 inches of concrete and placed on a one (1) inch bed of sand. Double markers may be up to 36 inches by 14 inches in size.
All foundations must be of concrete.
All Rules and Regulations of the City Cemetery are subject to change and amendment by the City Council.
City of O’Fallon Cemetery
The O’Fallon City Cemetery, although operated by the City, is actually your cemetery. Without your complete understanding of the problems involved and your continued cooperation, the cemetery cannot be a complete success. With your cooperation, the O’Fallon City Cemetery will be well maintained and efficiently operated. It is a community project.
Mayor Gary Graham and the O’Fallon City Council thank you for your part in making this cemetery available to the community, and you may be justly proud to be a part of this worthwhile endeavor.
There is no greater City project than providing a final resting place for those who have made the journey to their Maker.
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