Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Who do I contact about purchasing cemetery spaces?
Answer: Currently several members of the Williams family have volunteered to act as agents for cemetery sales. Williams Funeral Directors has been contracted to maintain the active cemetery records. This relationship has been established in attempt to provide lot locations and availability in a more timely manner.
Question: How is Williams Funeral Directors involved with Garland Mills Cemetery Association?
Answer: Marion D. Williams III was a founding member of Garland Mills Cemetery Association. He, along with a number of other community members hoped to create an entity to better manage and upkeep Garland's cemeteries. Williams Funeral Directors and Garland Mills Cemetery Foundation are seperate entities, but a long time relationship has formed through numerous Williams family members serving as volunteers on the cemetery board. When Williams Funeral Directors moved to it's new existing location beside Garland Memorial Park in 2003, that partnership evolved to Williams Funeral Directors primarily handling new lot sales.
Question: How/Whom do I submit thoughts and concerns?
Board members may be contacted through our website directly. The cemetery board also has a public forum annually typically held the weekend after Father's Day. In recent years this forum has been held in Williams Memorial Chapel. Lot owners are notified of this meeting through mail, by this website, and facebook notification. As of the launch of this website we will also announce the day and time on the web front page as well as our Facebook page(Link can be found below on the toolbar.) The public is welcome to attend this meeting to share there thoughts, concerns and ideas about the cemeteries.
You may also contact Williams Funeral Directors directly. Please keep in mind board members are not always available, nor is every board member familiar with all specific questions. We encourage you to use the contact page through this website, so the appropriate individual can acknowledge your question/concern. Approaching Williams Funeral Directors employees directly often leads to dissatisfaction as the employees are rarely directly involved with cemetery upkeep and affairs.
Question: Who is in charge of up keeping the cemeteries?
Answer: The cemetery foundation contracts upkeep services for the cemeteries. This primarily includes, mowing, weed eating, and removal of trash, aged floral arrangements, and objects not permitted by the rules voted upon by the cemetery board.
Question: Why do my flowers or personal belongings disappear from the cemetery?
Answer: Please check the rules page above for the guidelines for floral placement. All holidays have specific guidelines and clean-up days. We encourage all individuals whom utilize the cemetery parks to please not leave objects you consider valuable in the cemetery. These objects may be removed by the foundation contractors for not meeting the outlined guidelines. Also and unfortunately, any objects of value have the potential to be stolen or moved by outside parties. Flowers must be placed in approved containers which are outlined in the cemetery rules. These rules have been established by the volunteer board members in order to keep the cemetery sitely.
Question: Why does the cemetery have no security?
Answer: As outlined by this website, Garland Mills Cemetery is a non-profit organization. The funds currently in the long-term care fund are meant for the long-term upkeep of the cemetery. Once all lots are sold, it is likely the parks will have very little incoming funding. This being the case, the long-term care fund must generate enough interest to upkeep the park long-term. Full-time security is unfortunately not possible with the current budget. The association does hope eventually the fund will support the construction of a permanent fence for Garland Memorial Park.
Question: Why is the grass in Garland Mills Cemetery and the Reflections Section of Garland Memorial Park not sightly?
Answer: Garland Mills Cemetery has no existing plumbing structure for watering to be performed. Due to it's age and layout, installing a new plumbing structure would be extremely challenging if not impossible. The Reflections section of Garland Memorial Park is the most frequently used section currently. Due to the tractor and dirt moving devices, the ground experiences a large degree of wear and tear as well as being frequently compacted. This makes it difficult for the grass to grow. As this section fills, the situation will improve as the wear and tear will decrease. The cemetery has been seeded in the spring of 2019, and will be sprayed for weeds once temperatures reach chemical requirements.
Question: Can I place a tree/shrub or plant flowers around my loved ones grave?
Answer: Please refer to the rules and guidelines of the cemeteries. For any tree/plant/or shrub to be planted, a written request must be submitted to a cemetery board member. After consideration and review, it will be determined if the park will accommodate your request.
Question: Why do the cemeteries have rules?
Answer: It was determined by the Garland Mills board of directors that it is in the best interest of the public to maintain a clean park. Cemeteries such as the photo below are very difficult to maintain. The foundation believes a clean and orderly park helps best serve the needs of the community as a whole.
The majority of other cemetery parks in the area have similar rules. Here are several links to the rules of other parks.
Cemeteries like the photo below are nearly impossible to maintain, and new grave openings require workers to spend significant time removing and replacing items in order to open new graves.
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