Policy Statement for St. Dominic Pastorate Cemeteries 
 
1.0 St. Dominic Pastorate Cemeteries reserve the right to update and change these
policies at any time. Cemetery rates will be adjusted annually.  Call 608-744-2010 or email
[email protected] to request a copy of these policies and the Cemetery rates.
 
2.0 Process  
2.01 At the time of need, the Cemetery Sexton will indicate the lot(s) that are next
available for purchase in the cemetery of inquiry. 
2.02 Once full payment is complete for each Right of Burial and the cemetery fees, the
Cemetery Sexton and parish secretary will prepare a Right of Burial(s) certificate, record
Right of Burial to said location, and enter it into permanent records. 
2.03 A copy of the sealed Right of Burial(s) certificate will be mailed to the party
(Grantee) of purchase by the Cemetery Sexton (Grantor). It is the duty of the Right
of Burial Grantee to maintain the record of their purchase. Right of Burial(s) may be
handed down to heirs with a valid Right of Burial certificate.  
2.04 All fees must be paid to the Parish Office in advance of a burial, if not
working through a funeral home.
2.05 If the Cemetery Fee, or parts of the Cemetery Fee were not assessed at the time of
purchase, the remaining fee(s) will be applied at the time of burial and collected by the funeral home. The Cemetery Sexton or parish secretary will review original paperwork and inform the funeral home staff or party of any remaining fees. Cemetery grave space fees will vary by location.  An Additional $200 fees are collected by the funeral home:
  
• $100 Staking/Marking Fee per Right of Burial 
• $100 Administrative Fee per transaction 
2.06 All funerals and graveside burials must have a Catholic Priest or Deacon (in good
standing) present to pray over the dead.  
2.07 The cemetery may repurchase unused lots/Rights of Burial, of two or more at the original price less $100 retention for perpetual care and a $50 administrative processing fee.
3.0 First & Second Right of Burial 
3.01 Right of Burial(s) will be assigned to the grave site in numeric succession. 
3.02 No internment, sale or transfer of a First or Second Right of Burial may take place
without the consent of the Pastor or Cemetery Sexton and must be on record and
in writing with the Cemetery Sexton.
Any sale or transfer of a Right of Burial(s) must be procured through the Cemetery
Sexton. Profit in the sale of such Right of Burial(s) assigned to grave sites must
accrue to the Parish rather than the original purchaser. 
The Parish reserves the right to buy back a Right of Burial or easement at the
original purchase price. 
3.03 Each Right of Burial and all cemetery fees must be paid in full before receiving a
copy of the sealed Right of Burial certificate. This must be completed before a
burial occurs. 
3.04 Two (2) Right of Burial(s) may be assigned to each grave site.  Four (4) Rights of burial may be assigned with permission of the Sexton and pastor.  
3.05 Everyone buried in a St. Dominic Pastorate Cemetery must be memorialized within a year (365 days) of interment. 
3.06 All Second Right of Burials, if not engraved on the original headstone, must be
memorialized on a flush to the ground marker within 365 days that matches the
original grave marker. 
3.07 A vault is required for full casket burials.
3.08 For all burials or inurnments, a Disposition of Remains must be on file with the
Cemetery Sexton.  This is provided to the Cemetery Sexton when working through a
funeral home.  If you are not working through a funeral home, please furnish the
Cemetery Sexton with this paperwork in advance of the burial.
 
4.0 Cremated Remain Burials 
4.01 If not working through a funeral home, the cremated remains should be brought to the
services in a dignified non-biodegradable urn.
4.02 A non-biodegradable urn may be made of stone (granite, marble, and onyx), metal
(brass, stainless steel, bronze, copper, or pewter), or a durable polymer/resin urn
which is suitable for ground burial.    
4.03 A concrete urn vault is not required for cremated remains in an urn constructed with
the materials designated in 4.02. 
4.04 A concrete urn vault is required for cremated remains in wooden or glass type urns.
4.05 The urn of cremated remains must be inscribed with or have a metal ID tag affixed to
the urn with the person’s full name, date of birth, and date of death.  
4.06 Our professional contracted and insured grave digger will prepare the opening and
closing for the burial service. The funeral home must schedule this service for you. Or,
if no funeral home is involved, the family is responsible for contacting, contracting and
paying our insured grave digger as these fees are not part of the cemetery fee. Please
contact the Cemetery Sexton to receive the contact information of our grave digger. For liability purposes no graves may be dug by another party. 
4.07 All Second Rights of Burial, if not engraved on the original headstone, must be
memorialized within 365 days on a flush to the ground marker that matches the
original grave marker. 
 
 
5.0 Infant Burials  
5.01 A funeral home should be used to arrange for an infant burial.
5.02 A small vault is used, and the funeral home will arrange for our professional,
contracted, and insured grave digger prepare for the burial service.  
5.03 Infant burials may be made in an existing family lot as a Second Right of Burial. 
Two (2) Right of Burial(s) may be assigned to each grave site.  Four (4) Rights of burial may
be assigned with permission of the Sexton and pastor.  
5.04 The Right of Burial and cemetery fees may be waived due to hardship, based on
demonstration and/or the approval of the Pastor. 
5.05 Infant cremated remains do not require a vault when the urn is made of stone, metal,
or polymer/resin. 
5.06 A concrete urn vault is required for infant cremated remains in wooden or glass urns.
5.07 Flush ground-level markers matching the original grave marker are required if the
infant is not memorialized on the original headstone. Memorialization must be made
within 365 days.  
 
6.02 Monument Design Requirements  
1. All burials must be memorialized within 1 year (365 days) of burial with a stone
marker. 
2. Full Christian name of each memorial corresponds with the name(s) on record in the
office of the Cemetery Sexton. 
3. Date of birth and date of death on the front of the monument.
4. Predominant Christian symbolism on the front of the monument must align
with Catholic doctrine and belief (i.e. Cross, Sacred Heart, Mary)
5. Other Symbols that reflect deep and abiding human values, such as family, country,
nature, work may be allowed on the backside. 
6. References to business names, hobbies, trivial pursuits, pop culture, quotes by non-
Catholic leaders are not allowed. 
7. Benches or above ground columbarium style monuments are not permitted.
8. Multiple surnames on a single monument are not allowed unless approved in writing
by the Pastor or Cemetery Sexton.  
9. Acknowledging relationships that are not aligned with official Catholic Church
teaching are not allowed. 
10. Second Rights of Burial must be memorialized on a flush ground-level marker
matching the original grave marker if not memorialized on the original headstone. 
11. Monuments must meet the specific cemetery requirements for height, width, and
Depth.
12. Monuments with the purpose of memorializing but never intend to bury a body or cremains in the grave space is not permitted.
 
6.03 The Monument Owner Responsibilities 
1. Submit full payment for the Right(s) of Burial assigned to the lot(s) and Cemetery
Fees before beginning the design process or erecting a monument. 
2. Be financially responsible for the upkeep of the physical monument itself. It is
recommended that the monument be placed on a granite (cement is acceptable)
ground level foundation, then on a granite base above the ground. 
3. Be responsible for having a professional monument company add the date of
death.
4. Be financially responsible to remove, replace, or alter a non-conforming
monument to conforming specifications. 
5. No memorial shall be removed from the cemetery without the consent of the lot
holder and the Cemetery Sexton. If the family cannot be located, the Cemetery
Sexton shall correct and record the repair/replacement.
6. Communicating with heirs about Rights of Burial purchased and securing
permission for Second Right of Burial permission with the Cemetery Sexton.
 
6.04 The Cemetery Sexton Responsibilities 
1. Marking the location of memorials. No memorial may be placed on two or more plots
unless it is a companion or family memorial being placed on graves assigned to the
same family. 
2. If a memorial becomes unsightly, dilapidated, or a menace to visitors, the Cemetery
Sexton shall have the right to correct the condition or to remove it at the expense of
the owner(s).  
3. Decorations cleanup: Spring (March 15 – April 15), Fall (October 15 – November 15). Decorations may begin April 16 and November 16.
4. Prohibited decorations include glass, edging, rocks, toys, shrubs, wire. Non-compliant items will be removed.
 
7.0 Catholic Funerals 
7.01 Three separate and sequential rites are recommended as the most fitting way to
celebrate the pilgrimage of the deceased: The Vigil for the Deceased, the Funeral
Liturgy, and the Rite of Committal.  
7.02 The Catholic Funeral Liturgy highlights several important beliefs and values that
the Church affirms in its funeral practices: the sacredness of all human life; the dignity
of  the individual person; the resurrection of Jesus Christ; death as an occasion to
confront and embrace human mortality; respect which is to be shown for the bodies  of
the dead; and the importance of remembering the dead.
7.03 The Catholic Church recommends doing a Rite of Committal which is to bury the
dead. The Church prefers and urges that the body of the deceased be present for its
funeral rites since the presence of the body most clearly brings to mind the life and
death of the person. The Bishop’s Committee on the Liturgy recommends that
cremation take place following the funeral liturgy. However, if that is not possible, the
cremated remains of the body shall be present for the full course of the funeral rites
including the Vigil, the Funeral Liturgy, and the Rite of Committal. 
7.04 The cremated remains should be treated with the same respect given to the corporeal
remains of a human body. The cremated remains of a body should be entombed in a
columbarium, or may also be buried in a common grave in a cemetery.  
 
8.0 Definitions  
8.01 Active Registered Parish Member - Person or family who is a registered,
tithing and participating member within the St. Dominic Pastorate. Please email or
call the church of your registration if you are unsure of your registration status.  
8.02 First Right of Burial - First named person that purchased the right to be buried in
said grave. This First Right of Burial may be buried in a casket or as cremated
remains in an urn. 
8.03 Interment - Permanent disposition of the remains of a deceased person by burial,
inurnment or cremation.
8.04 Monument - the (often upright/slant) granite memorial with inscribed names and
dates.
8.05 Monument Base - Granite slab affixed to the monument foundation and that the
monument is affixed to. 
8.06 Monument Foundation - Lawn level flush to the ground granite or cement slab that
the monument base is set upon.
8.07 Perpetual Care Fee - Cares for our beloved who sleep in Christ. The Perpetual
Care Fee is required by law and covers items like burying infants, the indigent, and
the forgotten; maintaining those (usually very old) graves sold without perpetual care
funding, or whom families are no longer known; maintaining the tree care and
landscaping within each cemetery; unforeseen expenses related to cemetery
equipment; special landscaping projects.  
8.08 Right of Burial - Purchased per person. When you purchase a Right of Burial, you
purchase the right to name one person who will be buried in said grave. You are not
purchasing the land itself. The cemeteries’ sole ownership is the parish.
8.09 Second Right of Burial - Second named person buried within one ground grave.
This Second Right of Burial cases, is in the form of cremated remains only. The one
exception being an infant burial.
 
9.0 Contact Information 
Holy Ghost Cemetery Sexton, Dickeyville: Gary Leibfried 608-778-2353

• Parish office secretary: Lois Dietzel – [email protected]

Immaculate Conception Cemetery Sexton, Kieler: Bob Skemp 608-778-3061

• Parish office secretary: Tina Tranel – [email protected]

St. Francis de Sales Cemetery Sexton, Hazel Green: Don Rielly – [email protected]

• Parish office secretary: Marie Rupp – [email protected]

St. Joseph Cemetery Sexton, Sinsinawa: Larry Fleege – [email protected]
St. Mary Calvary Cemetery Sexton, Platteville: Tom Taber – retvso23 @centurylink.net

• Parish office secretary: Cindy Wiker – [email protected]

St. Patrick Cemetery Sexton, Benton: Mike Dixon 608-778-7335
St. Rose Cemetery Sexton, Cuba City: Mike McNett 608-778-7840

• Parish office secretary: Sharon Steines – [email protected], 608-744-2010

 
Revised December 3, 2025