The Downtown Kenosha Catholic (DTKC) cemeteries of St. Casimir, St. George, and St. James will begin their annual spring cleanup process on March 1.

“We wish to be transparent about the spring cleanup process before it begins,” said Michael Benner.

Benner oversees sales and operations of the DTKC cemeteries. “We do not want our patrons to be caught off guard by our regulations. This often happens when prohibited items on graves are removed by our cemetery staff,” he said.

Per cemetery regulations, Christmas wreaths should be removed from graves by patrons at any time before March 1. The remaining wreaths will be discarded by cemetery staff.
 
The DTKC cemetery staff regularly cleans during the spring, summer, and fall months for beautification, patron and employee safety, and for the prevention of polluting the cemeteries, neighboring properties, and the Pike Creek, Pike River, and Lake Michigan watersheds with non-biodegradable material, in particular.

During the cleaning process, cemetery staff will remove and discard all items that are not in compliance with the cemetery rules and regulations including, but not limited to, the following: artificial flowers, decorations, statues, shepherd hooks, solar lights, and edging. 

Patrons should remove non-compliant decorations before the cemetery staff disposes of them. DTKC cemeteries are unable to retrieve a decoration once the cemetery staff has removed it.
 
The cemetery furthermore reserves the right to correct or remove at any time, without notification, any decoration or planting that is unsightly, overgrown, contrary to Catholic teaching or is immoral, scandalous, obscene in nature, or violates any decoration policy.
 
The complete list of rules and regulations that govern the Catholic cemeteries of St. Casimir, St. George, and St. James may be found on the DTKC website and posted signs at each cemetery location. 

To subscribe to the DTKC cemetery electronic announcements via direct email and text distribution, click here  to register for free.

While St. Mark Cemetery is full, there are graves available for sale at the remaining DTKC cemeteries. The public may call the office to make an appointment or for further inquiries (262-657-1156, ext. 2).