Hilgers: Time for a Cemetery Sexton in Lockhart

By Kyle Mooty

LPR Editor

Answers to vandalism and grooming issues at the Lockhart Municipal Cemetery could be handled more efficiently according to Lockhart native and 97-year-old Harry Hilgers, who hopes the city will soon switch to the Cemetery Sexton program.

A Cemetery Sexton lives on site of a cemetery, manages and maintains the grounds there. The Sexton is responsible for day-to-day operations of the cemetery, which could include maintaining burials records and overseeing burials.

“They take care of the cemetery and all of the needs, landscaping and all,” said Hilgers, who said the annual cost of mowing and edging the city pays would be about the same for a Sexton, although there would be a one-time expense for a small house to be built on the property.

Hilgers and Janet Pitrie have shouldered most of the cleaning at the cemetery.

However, Hilgers said there had been vandalism at the cemetery in the last few years, including the destruction of some rare monuments that are not only costly, but likely irreplaceable. About 150 monuments were vandalized, and some were repaired with what Hilgers called “high tech glue.”

There were six extremely large monuments also damaged. Hilgers said those had been carved in Italy.

“Those are irreplaceable.,” Hilgers said. “They are about $300,000 per monument, but we probably couldn’t replace them because those are no longer done. If there is vandalism, the City of Lockhart has to pay for it, according to Hilgers.

“We are paying about $72,000 a year for mowing and edging. I have also been told it’s more than that. There is no grass to mow there because of the shade from the trees. We could plant even more trees. That will ensure that there will never be a need for mowing. The biggest need is not having the monuments destroyed. Cemeteries are forever.

The expense would be practically a wash, Hilgers said, with better eyes on the property.

“A Sexton would cost certainly no more than the mowing and edging costs right now. There are electronic alarms at the front and back and all over they can look out for. (The Sexton) would have visibility during the daylight to see if someone comes into the cemetery. There is an obvious need for it, but anything new and different scares people.”

The Lockhart Municipal Cemetery is about 30 acres and some burials there pre-date 1850, according to Hilgers.

A Cemetery Sexton can also work closely with funeral directors, families, and other cemetery personnel to ensure that burials are conducted smoothly and efficiently.

Sexton’s records of the cemetery may include the location, name of the deceased, date of birth, date of burial, cause of death, age of the deceased, occupation of the deceased, residence at time of death of the deceased, name and contact information of the person who arranged for the burial, who owns the plot, name of funeral home or mortuary that handled the arrangements, and religious affiliation or any special requests or instructions related to the interment.