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GRACE LAWN RESURRECTED FROM STATE OF DISREPAIR NONPROFIT GROUP KEEPS CEMETERY MAINTAINED Flint Journal, The (MI) By Betty Brenner JOURNAL STAFF WRITER At one time, more bodies were being removed from Grace Lawn Community Cemetery than were being buried there. But Michael Butts, who has run the cemetery since it reopened three years ago, notes that the trend has been reversed. He points with pride to the 200 yearly burials - nearly the number of burials before it was closed by the state in 1991. And relatives who arrived before Memorial Day this year armed with garden tools to clean up their loved ones' plots found the cemetery in such good shape they didn't unload their mowers, Butts said. "The cemetery was dead and people had lost hope," Butts said. "Now that people see it is being maintained, there's a restoration of hope." The graves of the 21,000 people buried in the cemetery, which opened in 1913, are well-tended. The grass is mowed once a week. A trip through the cemetery and conversations with local funeral homes reveals how far the cemetery has come since then - and, as Butts said, how far it is from Butts' dreams. "I feel good when I get time to think, but there is so much more to do that I don't have much time to reflect," said Butts, who with his brother, Matthew, helped form the community nonprofit corporation that reopened the cemetery. In his mind's eye, Butts still sees roads near the back of the cemetery that need fixing and piles of brush from trimming trees. When he turns around, he saw the need for paint and other repairs to the cemetery office. He could also see the door to the room where almost all the cemetery equipment was stolen in a recent break-in. Value of the stolen items is about $10,000, but insurance will cover most of the cost. Michael Butts is president of Covenant Cemetery Services, which manages the cemetery, and is president of the Trustees of Grace Lawn Cemetery, which bought the cemetery for $1.Matthew Butts is vice president of Covenant. The Rev. Silas Cox, associate pastor of Foss Avenue Baptist Church, is chairman of the nonprofit corporation. City Councilman Johnnie Tucker is vice chairman. It has been an uphill battle that is not completely won. Michael Butts said, "We're always on the ragged edge (financially) but we're making it. But now we're able to afford insurance." His assessment of the cemetery condition is seconded by Lawrence E. Moon, owner of the Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home. "There has been improvement," he said. "It's undercapitalized but they're trying very hard." The cemetery has community support, he said. The first year the cemetery was reopened, the need for cleanup was so great and the money so limited that a call went out to the community. Hundreds turned out to pitch in. At that time the grass was so tall in some places that machinery couldn't mow it. But that labor is no longer needed. Now Covenant has equipment that keeps it mowed and the weeds cut. Butts hopes some capital improvements will be started by the end of the year. The first goal, he said, will be to improve drainage on the roads and to create a chapel in the office building. When the cemetery was reopened, only $20,000 remained in the perpetual care fund, which is required by the state. It has increased to $30,000, Butts said. The merchandise trust fund, where money from markers bought in advance is placed, had been exhausted, but now is re-established, Butts said. Butts said a number of people have helped in the restoration. Suppliers have given them great terms, Butts said. The Michigan Cemetery Association has given donations. Butts is its vice president. |
Families Putting families first is what Covenant is all about. It is inevitable that families will face the loss of a loved one. When that happens, we're here for them. Our Mission Covenant Cemetery Services is an example of what the cemetery business ought to be about, serving families. Covenant seeks to restore confidence to funeral services by becoming a standard against which others are measured throughout the State of Michigan Our Services Covenant Cemetery Services is a full service provider. We offer traditional funeral services, as well as cremation services, and are looking to the future and green burials.
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