Hillcrest Cemetery is a nonprofit 501(c)13 located in Clearfield, PA and is the only cemetery owned by Clearfield Cemetery Company. Office hours by appointment only. Please call to make an appointment.
Hillcrest Cemetery/Clearfield Cemetery Company Rules:
⦁ Hillcrest Cemetery is a historical, nonprofit 501(c)(13) cemetery owned by Clearfield Cemetery Company. We are not affiliated with any other cemeteries named Hillcrest. We do not own the old cemetery across the street.
⦁ Due to financial constraints, our part-time employees which includes the superintendent only work 20-30hrs a week during the mowing season May-October.
⦁ We accept volunteers/community service during the mowing season. Call the office 814-765-4246 for info.
⦁ Our burial schedule is Weekdays 11-3, and Saturday 11-2. Any deviation after is $50/per half hour. We do not bury before the scheduled time of 11am and do not bury on Sundays or Holidays.
⦁ Perpetual care only covers mowing and reseeding/fertilizing as time allows, weather permits and as long as we are financially able to do so. Anything else is done at our discretion. Trimming around monuments is not the same as mowing and is done at our discretion. Some lots bought before 1980 do not have Perpetual care since people had the option of 'no care' and mowed it themself, 'annual care' or 'perpetual care'. Lots that do not have Perpetual care must have the Perpetual care paid for before someone may be buried or have a monument installed/fixed. Please ask the Superintendent for more info.
⦁ The cemetery is open from dawn until dusk. We understand that you may need to visit before dawn and after dusk but you do so at your own risk of being cited by the police who patrol the cemetery.
⦁ To keep fuel costs down we try to mow once every 10-14 days. We only use riding mowers and they will sometimes blow the wet cut grass onto monuments so you may have to sweep the monument off. We are not responsible for cleaning monuments.
⦁ Please be aware that graves are either in front of or behind the monument. Usually the back or front edge of the monument is the edge of your lot so please ask the Superintendent for help first so he can show you how the lot is laid out. You cannot plant anything on someone elses lot without their permission.
⦁ We regulate the use of grave decorations to insure the efficient maintenance of the cemetery and a safe environment for employees and visitors to the cemetery grounds. Any decorations which violate these rules and regulations or otherwise interfere with the ease of maintenance will be removed without notice. We reserve the right to remove all flowers, wreaths, or other decorations from lots as soon as they become unsightly.
⦁ Due to safety concerns, the difficulty in performing maintenance on the cemetery grounds and to avoid the appearance of clutter, items that are not permitted at any time include but are not limited to the following: artificial flowers, wire/metal stakes or tripods with decorations attached; glass and other breakable containers; ornaments; signs, pennants, banners, toys, balloons, non-military flags and spinners of any type.
⦁ By special request you may be able to install a protective border or curbing no more than eight inches in front or behind (see below) the monument so it doesn't interfere with our mowing equipment, or in vases mounted to the monument. The cemetery is not liable or responsible for damage to the border or curbing or what is planted therein.
⦁ Flowers must be planted next to the monument to ensure proper mowing. If you plant them too far out the grass and weeds will grow in between the monument, and weeds and grass will grow around flowers. Perpetual care does not cover trimming, so it is your responsibility to trim them.
⦁ Potted floral arrangements are permitted between April 21 and October 31 and must be removed by November 1. Wreaths and evergreen decorations are allowed November 1st to March 1st. Failure to remove your wreaths in the alotted time will result in us removing them, discarding them, and you will not be compensated.
⦁ Any shrubs you want to plant must be cleared by the superintendent. Failure to do so may result in their removal and disposal, and we will not replace them. We do not allow rose bushes or evergreen shrubs.
⦁ Alcoholic beverage containers are not permitted to be placed at the gravesite. Do not consume alcoholic beverages on cemetery property.
⦁ Funeral flowers placed on or next to the grave must be removed 1 week after burial and discarded in your trash.
⦁ Trees are not allowed to be planted. Pine blankets/branches are not permitted.
⦁ You must keep your shrubs properly trimmed so they cannot get in the way of our mowing. Anything that interferes with our ability to mow or dig a grave/urn hole may be trimmed or removed at our discretion and we will not replace them or compensate you.
⦁ Hosta and other plants will grow up and block the front of a monument preventing it from being read. You must keep them trimmed so the monument can be read.
⦁ When cleaning up around your lot, you must dispose of any bags of leaves, weeds or clippings or you can empty them over the bank in the rear of the cemetery. Empty the bags, do not throw them. That would be littering.
⦁ If any monument or marker becomes unsafe, unsightly, sinks, or in need of repair or resetting, we may attempt to notify the lot owner or next of kin (if known) of such condition and shall request such person to make any needed repairs under the Superintendent's supervision. If the owner does not make the needed repairs, we have the right to remove, replace, or repair any monument or marker at the lot owner's expense.
⦁ The cemetery does not bind itself to provide, maintain, engrave, repair, or replace any headstones, markers or monument structures or anything whatsoever attached thereto or placed upon lots or graves.The cemetery will incur no liability regarding the damage to a monument from forces of nature, falling trees, ground movement, thieves, vandals or stains. Monuments should be covered by your homeowner’s insurance coverage.
⦁ Cornerstones must be placed ground level as to not interfere with the mower decks of the riding mowers. Ask the superintendent to make sure they are placed correctly. Over time they will sink down.
⦁ In conjunction with opening and closing of graves, it may be necessary to temporarily move monuments and markers until burial is completed. The grave is usually dug directly in front of or behind the monument so anything you have planted could be dug up with the grave and we will not replace it or reimburse you.
⦁ The cemetery does not bind itself to do any special or unusual work.
⦁ Deer, rabbits and other animals may eat your flowers and we will not replace your flowers.
⦁ All travel by foot or vehicle on cemetery property is at your own risk.
⦁ Office hours are appointment only since we cannot afford to pay someone to sit in the office 12hrs a day. If you need help, please call 814-765-4246 and leave a message. Tenants rent the house and do not have office access and cannot answer questions pertaining to the cemetery.
⦁ When visiting the cemetery, please be alert for workers operating equipment on the roads and yield right-of-way to them. Most roads are wide enough to let 2 vehicles pass side by side if they partially go onto the grass. There's usually a 2 foot space between the road and where someone is buried.
⦁ Please try to park your vehicle partially in the grass along the side of the road so people can get around your vehicle. People usually aren't buried close to the road so you won't be on anyone's grave.
⦁ After a burial, we rely on significant rainfall to settle the grave before we will put topsoil on or use sod. Even after significant rainfall the grave may sink or develop sinkholes and we will take care of those for 1 year after burial. Any sinking after 1 year is your responsibility. After we seed or sod a grave, please try to keep it watered.
⦁ The dirt used to fill in graves is the same that is removed which is mostly rocky clay or all rocks.
⦁ After any storms, you should check your lot to see if any flowers or decorations have blown away, find them and put them back. Otherwise we will dispose of them if they're laying on the ground and you will not be reimbursed. We are not responsible for decorations that are blown away, damaged, removed or moved by others.
⦁ Borders and curbing must be removed prior to digging any new graves. If you do not remove it then it will be dug up and discarded while digging the grave and we will not replace or reimburse.
⦁ Take your former flower arrangements home and dispose of them in your own garbage. Anyone caught disposing them over the bank or anywhere on cemetery property may be cited for littering.
⦁ We do not provide or replace military flag holders and flags. Visit your local VA Office or American Legion for these items and replace them yourself. We do not provide or replace D.A.R. and Ladies Aux. flags and holders.
⦁ All recreational vehicles are prohibited from operating on cemetery grounds.
⦁ Pets entering cemetery grounds must be kept on a leash at all times. You may not curb your pet on cemetery property. If you do then you must pick up their feces and take it home with you. If you are caught leaving feces on cemetery property you will be cited and possibly banned.
⦁ Nesting insects on your lot are your responsibility but we will try to remove them by special request.
⦁ If you see visitors in the cemetery being disorderly or disrespectful you may call 911, 765-1533 for County Control, or 765-7819 for the Clearfield Borough Police and report them. Do not call the cemetery office since we do not have someone in the office to answer the phone.
⦁ No recreational activities are allowed in the cemetery without the permission of the Superintendent.
⦁ No structures of any kind other than grave markers or lot monuments may be placed on lots and single graves.
⦁ A standard grave space is 4 feet wide so monuments cannot exceed 4 feet in width if you only own one grave space.
