Savvy Senior: Grave site care when you can’t be there
Dear Savvy Senior: Can you recommend any services that offer grave site cleaning and care? I recently visited my parent’s cemetery grave site over Memorial Day weekend and found that their headstones were overtaken by weeds and moss and need to be cleaned. I live in a different state and can’t get back very often. Who can I call on to help me with this? — Long-Distance Linda
Dear Linda: Depending on where your parents are buried, there are a few places you can turn to for grave site grooming, decorating and special care when you can’t get there. Here’s what you should know.
Grave site care
It’s important to know that as a general rule, most cemeteries, like the one your parents are buried in, only provide basic grounds maintenance like mowing the grass and trash pickup. Special grave site care and headstone cleaning are almost always up to the family. But for families who live a distance from their loved one’s burial place and can’t get back very often, what options are available?
A good first step is to contact the cemetery staff where your parents are buried to see if they offer any special grave site cleaning services or know of anyone who does. If not, try reaching out to some local funeral homes in the area to see if they can help or refer you.
If you don’t have any luck there, another option is to hire a grave site care provider on your own. These are small or individually run businesses that provide services like plot maintenance including grass trimming and weeding, headstone cleaning and restoration, flower and wreath deliveries and more. And so you know the work was completed or the flowers were delivered, many companies will take pictures of the grave site and email or text them to you.
There are hundreds of small businesses that provide grave site care services in local communities or regions across the country. To find them, do a simple Google or Bing internet search, and type in something like “grave care services” or “cemetery headstone cleaning” plus your city or state. Or use an AI tool like Chat GPT or Gemini to do a search.
You can also seek help by contacting the local memorial society or funeral consumer alliance program near your parent’s grave site — see Funerals.org for contact information. These are volunteer groups that offer a wide range of information on local funeral and cremation providers, cemeteries and more.
The cost for most grave site care services can range from $50 to over $250 for headstone cleaning and memorial restoration (depending on the job size), $50 to $200 for flower and wreath deliveries, and $30 to $80 for plot grooming. Special discounts for multiple grave site services and visits may also exist.
Floral services
If you’re interested in decorating your parent’s grave site next Memorial Day with fresh-cut flowers or live plants, another option is to call a local florist to see if they can make a delivery directly to their grave site.
Many florists will accommodate this request if you provide them the cemetery location and plot number, but you may not get a photo verifying the delivery.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org.