By Laws revised 9/29/2024
Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery
The Pilgrim Rest Cemetery of 20122 Hwy.1081 Covington, Louisiana is a non-profit, multifamily organization with the purpose of efficiently conducting the business of collecting and disbursing funds necessary for perpetual care, and conveying the right of interments. The elected board of Pilgrim Rest Cemetery is the governing body of Pilgrim Rest Cemetery of Covington, Louisiana. The 9 (nine) member board is comprised of family members of previously interred individuals and will be elected at the annual Pilgrim Rest Community meeting during the month of October. Biannual community meetings will be held in May and October of each year prior to Memorial Day and All Saints Day to discuss cleaning of the grounds and placement of flags to honor our American Veterans. Information on meetings, burials, and updates on cemetery information may be obtained through the cemetery website at www.PilgrimRestCemetery.com
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Cemetery History:
On July 1st, 1893, conveyance records show a sale of property by P.L.G. Whitney to the newly organized Pilgrim Rest Church. On May 7th, 1908, the property was sold to the St. Tammany Parish School Board for the purpose of building a school. On September 6th 1932 a portion of land adjacent to the Church/School was donated by Mrs. Anna M. Dickson to the Pilgrim Rest Grave Yard. On July 27th, 1946, the St. Tammany Parish School Board sold the Church/School back to the church. In May, 1978 surveys of the newest sections of the cemetery were prepared with layouts for grave sites and walkways. No record of the original rules/regulations for the cemetery has been found, but family members during that time period were in charge of burials, monument placement, and ground maintenance. Rules and regulations for perpetual care, funds collected, and burial decisions were established in September, 1993.
The following Pilgrim Rest Cemetery By-Laws were prepared using previous information pertaining to the cemetery and were revised to meet the issues and needs for the cemetery, by the newly elected board in February, of 2019.
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Rules and Regulations:
All conveyances of right to burial in grave spaces are made subject to these rules and regulations and will be determined by the board or a sub-committee of the board.
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A. Burial spaces in the cemetery will be provided to descendants and spouses of previous interred family members. (eg. Mother, Father, Grandparents)
B. Effective June, 1, 2019 burial spaces will be reserved and provided to individuals and families at a cost of $500 (Five Hundred Dollars) per burial spot for the purpose of cemetery upkeep and perpetual care. This amount must be paid in full prior to a burial plot assigned and burial.
C. The right to bury of any individual will be denied by the board or sub-committee of the board if the preceding regulations A and B have not been met. (A board sub-committee will consist of two or more board members, when time requirements for a decision does not allow the entire board to convene. All decisions of sub-committees will be addressed by the entire board at the next scheduled board meeting)
D. If a purchaser of grave space(s) seeks to bury another family member not specifically stated in the above regulations, a request can be made to the board for review.
E. Only authorized vehicles only are allowed beyond the gates on cemetery grounds.
F. Anyone entering the gates of the cemetery is responsible for safety and liability for themselves and any minor children with them.
G. When leaving the cemetery grounds please close and latch all gates.
H. No pets allowed inside the gates of the cemetery unless they are service animals.
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Burials and Monuments:
A. When a burial is needed the family must make arrangements through a funeral home. A family member or the funeral home will contact a board member to determine burial eligibility and grave site location.
B. Digging of graves, funeral home preparations, and monument work must be provided through a licensed funeral home or monument company, at the cost to the family. Family members or private individuals with digging equipment will not be allowed to dig graves. Funeral homes and monument companies will provide liability insurance and exercise caution not to damage adjoining or nearby graves or monuments of others. Any damage to cemetery property will be corrected by those individuals at their cost.
C. Only one interment is allowed per grave site. Remains from cremations may be buried over bodies with board approval. Cremated remains may be spread over the grounds without board approval.
D. Inurnments:
a. Cremation remains may be spread on cemetery grounds with board approval.
b. The top of urns must be buried a minimum of twelve inches below the surface of the ground.
c. A family plot must be paid for, prior to inurnment.
d. Urns may be buried in family plots, over a previously buried coffin at a charge of $25 for cemetery maintenance. A coffin cannot be buried after urns are interred..
e. A maximum of 8 cremation remains can be buried in one burial plot.
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Flowers and Decorations:
A. No live flowers or shrubs are allowed to be planted.
B. Flowers, live or artificial, placed on grave sites will be left and will be the responsibility of family members for upkeep and removal. Trash Cans are provided and can be found in several locations throughout the cemetery. No glass containers and please limit grave site decorations, as they may hinder lawn maintenance.
C. No copings, glass containers, sand or gravel on grave sites.
D. Family members are responsible to level and or add clay to graves due to subsidence of soil after burials. Please use shovels and wheelbarrows not tractors or earth moving equipment.
E. Head stones, foot stones, and monuments are the responsibility of family members for purchase and placement. Size of monuments should be limited to height and grave site size, for safety and cemetery maintenance. Burial plots are a maximum of 4 foot in width.
F. The cemetery board reserves the right to remove any decorations, plantings, or monuments not in keeping with regulations, considered unsafe, and /or restricts in cemetery maintenance and upkeep of the grounds.
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Family Members Responsibility:
A. The cost and maintenance of monuments placed on grave sites
B. Any damage to their graves or monuments caused by vandalism or acts of God
C. Following burials in a timely manner please remove flowers and decorations and level soil after subsidence (Dirt and trash cans are provided within the cemetery grounds)
D. Any injury to themselves or minor children with them that may occur while within the grounds of the cemetery
E. Effective June, 1st, 2019 payment of $500 per burial spot for the purpose of cemetery upkeep.