GRANT COUNTY, Ind.— A Grant County judge has ruled a township trustee can take over the maintenance and financial matters of a deteriorating cemetery.
The decision comes after families contacted WRTV Investigates, a township trustee and the Indiana Attorney General’s office with concerns about the condition of Estates of Serenity in Marion.
The judge’s order also opens the door for $600,000 in taxpayer money to be used for fixing up the graveyard.
“Such a shame”: Families have concerns about cemetery conditions
For Beulah Willis, the Estates of Serenity Cemetery in Marion is a special place.
More than 70,000 people are buried at the cemetery, which spans 100 acres and dates back to the 1800s.
She has numerous family members laid to rest at the cemetery, including her late husband, Carlton, with whom she shares a burial plot.
“We have been associated with this cemetery forever,” said Willis. “It just breaks my heart to see it looking this way.”
When we met up with Willis on June 30, she was concerned about the condition of the cemetery, including high weeds and grass, dead trees, brush piles and markers knocked out of place.
Her family pays a contractor $800 a year to mow and weed their plot.
“It’s just such a shame,” said Willis. “It’s disrespectful to our ancestors, disrespectful to us who come to see our loved ones."
Beulah Willis and her daughter contacted WRTV Investigates for help because we helped them with a tax issue several years ago.
Elsie Kinzie has also been concerned about the conditions at Estates of Serenity.
Kinzie paid to have her husband Garry’s casket exhumed from Estates of Serenity in July 2024 and moved to another cemetery.
“It wasn’t being taken care of,” said Kinzie. “It got really bad. I had wanted to do it for a while because we wanted him to be at rest.”
Nonprofit president cites financial concerns as burials decline
WRTV Investigates found Brian Jeffrey is the President of the Marion Cemetery Corporation, the nonprofit that owns the cemetery.
Jeffrey took over the business in 2021 after his brother died.
WRTV Investigates has learned Jeffrey’s cemetery license has been on probation with the state since February 2024.
And in February 2025, the Indiana Funeral and Cemetery Board found Jeffrey violated his probation and cited Jeffrey for failing to:
- Regularly mow large sections of the grounds
- Trim around monuments
- Remove dead or dying trees
- Repair and reset monuments
The most recent order says Jeffrey must submit quarterly reports to the board, including financial documents and photographs. The February 2025 order also says Jeffrey was supposed to submit an action plan within 90 days.
“No, he has not submitted any of those,” said Emily Cox, a spokesperson with the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, in an email to WRTV.
WRTV caught up with Jeffrey in Grant County on June 30.
- WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney: “What do you want to say to the families who are concerned about the condition of the cemetery?”
- Jeffrey: “My lawyer said not to talk to you guys.”
- WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney: “Is the condition of the cemetery acceptable to you?
- Jeffrey: “Lawyer said not to talk to you, so I’m not going to talk to you.”
Jeffrey did not talk to WRTV, but he did speak in a Grant County courtroom on June 30.
"I mow, I weed eat, I cut trees,” said Jeffrey in court.
Jeffrey said he has two full-time employees and some part-time help.
"I take care of the books myself,” said Jeffrey in court. “I do everything by hand."
The cemetery is losing money because it’s mostly funded through burials.
Jeffrey said before COVID, they averaged more than 150 funerals a year, but in 2024, they had 54 funerals.
“There’s so many cremations now, they’re just dropping the bodies off and not even doing viewings,” said Jeffrey. “Then they pick them up, take them home on the shelf or in a closet. So I’ve lost $120,000 in maintenance revenue from that."
Township trustee files lawsuit to take over cemetery care
Center Township Trustee Deborah Cain wants her office to take ownership of the cemetery.
She took the stand in Grant County court on June 30 and said dozens of families have complained to her office.
"People go out there to grieve their loved ones, and they can’t even reach the headstone," said Cain.
Cain filed a lawsuit against Brian Jeffrey and the Marion Cemetery Corporation on September 23, 2024.
"I thought ‘ok, enough is enough’,” said Cain. “Somebody needs to step up and do something. Somebody that has the authority needs to do something."
Cain said she secured $300,000 in funding from both the city and county councils to fix up the cemetery, totaling $600,000.
"It’s going to give me a head start,” testified Cain. “That’s what I need."
Cain said that to spend the funds, she needs to have control over the cemetery.
Marion resident Brittany Riley testified in support of Cain, and said she’s had to weed her family’s plot.
She also cleared brush into a pile.
“I came back a few days later and they had set it on fire just a few feet from my loved one's grave,” said Riley. “It was a big scorched spot, and it made me really angry."
Riley also testified that one of the cemetery workers showed her cremains in the office.
"He said when they were burying someone else, the backhoe disturbed the vault and disrupted two cremains they didn’t know were in the ground,” said Riley. “I could see plastic bags that were tied at the top, and he lifted one of them up. I could see gray matter, and at that point I got really creeped out."
Both Riley and Cain filed complaints against Jeffrey with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.
Jeffrey responded to the allegations regarding the cremains on the stand.
"I know there was cremation containers in there with plastic bags that had dust in it, but I’ve never actually seen any ashes myself,” said Jeffrey.
Jeffrey argued the township trustee’s control should be limited to merely financial assistance.
Judge issues order in favor of township trustee on July 7 and July 17
The judge took the matter under advisement following the June 30 hearing.
On July 7, Judge Nathan Meeks handed down a decision in favor of township trustee Deborah Cain, allowing her to take over the care and maintenance of the cemetery.
“The Estates of Serenity are in a state of utter disrepair and deplorable conditions have gone unrectified for several years, if not decades, including but not limited to: dismantled monuments, fallen trees, tall grass and other foliage preventing visitors, condemned mausoleums, poor record keeping for burial plots,” wrote Judge Meeks in his order.
The judge likened the Marion Cemetery Corporation to a “few brave souls bailing water from the Titanic” as the ship sank.
“Their efforts are commendable, but commendable efforts are not always sufficient for the task at hand,” read the judge’s order. “The neglect must stop now, and the only path forward is to vest the Center Township Trustee with the care and maintenance of Estates of Serenity.”
On July 17, the judge issued an updated order granting the township trustee full control over the cemetery’s financial matters, operations, grounds maintenance and repairs—effectively immediately.
WRTV Investigates contacted Jeffrey’s attorney for comment about the judge’s decision.
We have not heard back.
Brian Jeffrey can appeal the decision.
Cain’s attorney, Edward Merchant, said Jeffrey has filed a notice of appeal, and he still owns the property.
“The updated Order provides us with an opportunity to use the eminent domain statute to obtain full ownership of the property,” said Merchant in an email to WRTV.
The trustee has already started cleaning up the property, but it’s just a start.
Beulah Willis is hopeful the Estates of Serenity will be a peaceful final resting place for her husband and loved ones.
“It’s just sad,” said Willis. “That’s all I can say.”
If you have concerns about a cemetery
The next Indiana Funeral and Cemetery Board meeting is scheduled for August 7.
The status of Brian Jeffrey's license is expected to be on the agenda.
The Indiana Funeral and Cemetery Board is the state entity that regulates funeral homes, funeral directors and cemetery practices in Indiana.
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office can bring complaints before the board.
You can file a complaint with the Attorney General here: https://www.in.gov/pla/report-a-professional/
