Cemeteries

The City of St. Joseph owns and operates two cemeteries, The city cemetery within the City of St. Joseph and Riverview Cemetery located in St. Joseph Township.  

City Clerk's Office:
Phone: (269) 983-6325
Fax: (269) 985-0346

City Cemetery: 1918 Lakeview Avenue
Riverview Cemetery: 2925 Niles Road

The City Cemetery, located at 1918 Lakeview Avenue, is the oldest city cemetery with graves dating back to the early 1800's. Although it currently has no in-ground lots for sale, it does offer an alternative to in-ground burials with the use of columbaria, which by definition are mausoleums or structures with niches for cremated remains. These columbaria are located directly in front of the mausoleum.

Riverview Cemetery, located at 2925 Niles Road, offers full burial lots, cremation lots and columbarium niches for sale. Columbaria are located throughout Riverview Cemetery, as well as the City Cemetery on Lakeview Avenue.

The St. Joseph Cemetery Board is charged with the administration and management of the city cemeteries. The City Charter provides that the board shall have such powers and authority as may be necessary for the care, management and preservation of all city cemeteries and cemetery grounds, tombs, and monuments and is charged with directing the improvements and embellishments of the grounds and cause such grounds to be laid out into lots, avenues and walks. The Board also directs the expenditure of monies provided for the cemetery, sets rates and develops rules and regulations relative to burial and other matters pertaining to the cemetery.

The Cemetery Board includes the following people:
• George King
• Mark Zielke 
• Al Johnson

Information regarding plots and burials should be directed to the City Clerk's Office at 269-983-6325. Plots may be purchased at the City Clerk's Office during regular business hours (Monday through Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., except holidays). 

For a complete list of cemetery fees, please click here.

The following is an excerpt from the Cemetery Rules and Regulations regarding Plantings.  

PLANTINGS
Flowers, Wreaths, and Decorations. Generally, summer and fall items may be placed from May 1 through October 31; winter items may be placed from December 1 through April 1. For maintenance purposes, no items may be placed in April or November of any year. Any unclaimed items will be considered unwanted, and be removed by cemetery personnel.

a. All Columbarium flower arrangements are to be placed in the designated area.
b. Cut flowers may be placed on headstones.
c. Shepherd hooks are allowed but will be removed from grounds if unused for any period of time.
d. All artificial flowers must be placed in approved urns or containers. All artificial flowers not in approved urns or containers will be removed. Cemetery personnel will not be responsible for artificial flowers that may interfere with necessary grounds care activities.
e. Statues, figurines etc., may be allowed in lieu of planters, urns, or wreaths, upon approval of the Superintendent of Parks and Grounds. Such statues/figurines may not exceed the height of the headstone.
f. No religious symbols are allowed; except for those permanently engraved or attached to monuments/headstones.

Removal of Plants and Shrubs. The Cemetery management shall have the right to remove, without notice, trees, shrubs, and flowers planted in violation of these rules. The Cemetery Management reserves the right to trim, cut down and remove any plantings by a lot owner which are undesirable in their present condition.

Cemetery Memorial Fund

The Cemetery Board oversees a Cemetery Memorial Fund. This fund will use donations made to the cemetery for improvements that are outside the arena of normal cemetery improvements covered by the perpetual care fund. Examples of these types of improvements include:

• Gardens
• Walkways
• Benches
• Statuary
• Shelters
• Historical Markers

Through the Cemetery Memorial Fund, a 16' x 18' bereavement room was completed, which gives families a comfortable place to handle making arrangements for services for their loved one. All contributions are tax-deductible and donations made of $150 or more will be recognized on a Memorial Tree located inside the bereavement room.

To make a donation, please contact the City Clerk's Office at (269) 983-6325 or mail to:

City of St. Joseph Cemetery Memorial Fund
700 Broad Street
St. Joseph, MI. 49085-1276