3 Bay Area cemeteries ordered to stop operations sparking concern, confusion among community

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (KGO) -- Three cemeteries in the Bay Area and one in Fresno have been ordered to cease operations due to claims of financial mismanagement.

They include: Mount Tamalpais Cemetery and Mortuary in San Rafael, Skyview Memorial Lawn in Vallejo, Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, and Chapel of the Light in Fresno.

The announcement has sparked a lot of confusion and concern among community members who are worried about what happens next.

But some say, they've been concerned for a while now about operations.

At Mount Tamalpais Cemetery and Mortuary in San Rafael, some people say they're increasingly worried about how things look.

"I just went in to find my mother and great grandmother and I couldn't find them. There are just weeds over everything," said Sydney Durkovich, who's visiting from Boise, Idaho.

"During the summer months, it does gets quite brown and dry and that raises concerns for our community about fire safety," said Brieze Bell, who lives near the cemetery.

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On Monday, Mount Tamalpais Cemetery and Mortuary and three other memorial sites under the same ownership received a cease-and-desist demand from The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, part of the CA Department of Consumer Affairs.

State regulators say the owner and operator mismanaged finances and failed to properly care for the facility. They ordered Mount Tamalpais Cemetery to stop operations.

"I think there's a lot of confusion," said Bell.

"I hope they don't close it. The county needs it. Besides, I have family members up here. What are they going to do? Are they going to move them?," said San Rafael resident Gary Peak.

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Funeral Director Jack Thornton said the mortuary and the cemetery remain open. He says operations at the cemetery have been put on hold.

"The gates are open. We're talking to people," said Thornton. "The only thing a cease-and-desist is we can't open any graves right now."

ABC7 News reached out to the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau for comment, but did not get a response.

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When we reached out to the cemetery owner Buck Kamphausen by phone, we asked him about the accusations that he mismanaged endowment funds.

"We haven't mismanaged funds. Most everything they put out, right from the start is a lie," said Kamphausen. "We are appealing their ruling."

For those concerned about the welfare of their loved ones at the cemetery now or in the future:

"They still will be taken care of. That's what we're trying to do is try and get things taken care of so we can maintain this-- open and closing graves. We'll go back to operating. You just got this thing in between the Department of Consumer Affairs is sitting on the money to operate on," said Thornton.