Digging for Answers – July 30, 2009

Cemetery Sexton
by Randy Seaver

Welcome to the Digging for Answers column on the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal.

This column will depend on your submission of questions about cemeteries, gravestones, burial practices, and other topics that concern a Graveyard Rabbit (other than where his next carrot is coming from!).  So - please send some questions to the editor, who will pass them along and keep the columnist hopping.

A reader wants to know: "What is the job of a Sexton at the Cemetery?"

I've always wondered about this myself.  My own experiences visiting large and active San Diego area cemeteries is that there is a cemetery staff headed by a manager or director that reports to a government board or to a company board of directors.  I'm not sure that they even have a person with the job title "sexton."

On the other hand, I've visited several cemeteries in rural Massachusetts that had no office or maintenance building on the grounds and there was no person available to answer questions or help people searching for specific gravesites.  In other places, I've found an office in a maintenance building that had a card file of the residents of the cemetery, with a person who was very helpful in providing directions to the gravesite, and apparently supervised a small staff of gardeners and gravediggers.

Is the job just taking care of the grounds—mowing the grass, trimming the bushes and tending to the trees?  Is the job bigger than that—is it also digging the grave, dropping the casket and covering it over?  I Googled "cemetery sexton" to see what I could find out. 

Several towns and counties across the USA have posted cemetery sexton duties on the Internet. 

The city of Salem, Indiana has a succinct description of the Cemetery Sexton's duties:

His duties include, but are not limited to, digging of graves, selling grave sites and documenting all burials. He is also in charge of the mowing, upkeep of equipment and snow removal in winter.

The El Dorado, Kansas job description is a bit more definitive:

The cemetery sexton shall have the custody and care of all personal property of the city in or about the cemeteries. He or she shall cause all persons within such cemeteries to observe the rules and regulations pertaining to conduct therein and the care and adornment of cemetery lots. The cemetery sexton and assistants shall open any grave upon a permit therefore from the city clerk, close all graves and make such reports upon any burial as may be required. The cemetery sexton shall report all violations of cemetery rules and regulations to the city manager and his or her action relative thereto.

In Marshfield, Wisconsin, the Cemetery Sexton has even more responsibilities:

The cemetery sexton shall be responsible for the orderly and lawful operation of the city cemetery, to include completing interments; cleaning and maintaining grounds, buildings and equipment; assisting individuals and families by directing them to locations of previous burials, allocation of future burial sites; and enforcement of the rules of the cemetery concerning flowers, shrubs and monuments. The cemetery sexton shall prepare an annual budget and capital improvement program (CIP) project request. The cemetery sexton will exercise supervision over cemetery laborers. Oversight and evaluation of the cemetery sexton's work shall be the responsibility of the judiciary, license and cemetery committee of the council, and the city administrator.

The Gering, Nebraska Cemetery Sexton job description is spelled out in bullet points:

Supervises and assists in the operation of the City cemetery by scheduling burials, selling grave plots, collecting fees, coordinating plot ownership with city clerk; maintains burial records, lot ownership and grave locations.

Provides positive customer service by being responsive to citizens, funeral directors, and monument companies requesting assistance or information; performs a variety of public relations and marketing duties which include providing assistance in site selection and payment; consults with bereaved families as required.

Directs and participates in the opening and closing of graves and disinterment.

Assists with the preparation and administration of budgets, records, and purchasing.

Recommends pricing for burial plots; assists in drafting ordinances related to cemetery matters.

Plans, organizes, and directs the layout, operation, and maintenance of cemetery grounds.

Carries out the seeding, fertilizing, soil conditioning, watering, pest and weed control including the application of fertilizer and chemicals; installation and maintenance of irrigation systems.

Directs equipment operators and maintenance workers assigned to cemetery duty.

Provides recommendations regarding equipment purchases and requisitions all supplies and materials needed for effective cemetery operation.

Determines work procedures, prepares work schedules, and expedites workflow; studies and standardizes procedures to improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations.

Assigns, supervises, and evaluates maintenance workers, temporary employees, or community service workers.

Insures the proper maintenance of equipment and tools by supervising and participating in cleaning and checking equipment and tools after use.

Oversees the safety of assigned maintenance workers and equipment operators by instructing individuals in proper safety procedures and monitoring work in progress.

Assists in motivating and evaluating personnel by acting as a liaison between crew members and other City supervisors.

Blogger Linda K. Lewis who writes The Digital Cemetery blog, provides the most concise, yet complete, description I've seen of the tasks and duties of the cemetery sexton in her post The World of the Cemetery Sexton.  Here is her summary comment:

In broad strokes, the role of a sexton is to take charge of, care for, and supervise the cemetery, under the direction of the Cemetery Board or other governing party.

Read all of Linda's blog post. 

There is a book titled One Foot in the Grave: Secrets of a Cemetery Sexton by Chad Daybell.  It is available on Amazon Books.   Sounds interesting, with many good reviews, although it had several bad reviews.

Obviously, the job description varies from town to city to private company, but it appears that the job of Cemetery Sexton is an important one, which requires management skills, sensitivity to patrons and customers needs, and dealing with government bodies.