CULLMAN — Cullman Memory Gardens is set to re-open next week under a new owner, DeArbor LLC, after being closed for more than a year.

Mismanagement by previous owner Mike Graham and Associates led to the cemetery being taken over by the Alabama Department of Insurance due to financial irregularities under the Alabama Pre-Need Funeral and Cemetery Act in 2005.

DeArbor purchased the cemetery last week, and the deal is set to officially close soon.

Under the agreement, DeArbor will assume all assets of the Cullman cemetery. All existing, paid-in-full pre-need cemetery contracts including interment rights, openings and closing of graves and a minimum concrete vault will be honored. An endowment care fund will also be re-established to maintain the facility.

The cemetery office is slated to open late next week, though a specific day has not been set. The new owner is encouraging plot owners to call in advance and make an appointment to discuss contracts. The office can be reached at (256) 739-1015, once it eventually opens.

DeArbor President Anthony Arboritanza said he is hoping plot owners will be patient while he and his staff work to re-open the cemetery.

“We want to get things organized and start meeting with the families individually to discuss their specific contracts,” he said. “It’s not going to benefit anyone if everyone just shows up at the office on our first day. We need the community to support us and be patient with us while we get our feet on the ground.”

Arboritanza said his first order of business will be taking care of the cemetery grounds, which have largely been neglected the past year except for volunteer clean-ups.

“Our intentions are to take care of the major issues, like the grounds, immediately,” he said. “We should be able to make some improvements relatively quick, but everyone needs to remember it didn’t get into that condition overnight.”

Plot owners who have been unable to get plots next to loved ones is another issue that should be addressed, Arboritanza said.

“Those have been reserved, so they should be able to come in and purchase lots next to their loved ones,” he said.

Contracts that were not paid in full before the cemetery was taken into receivership should also be continued, Arboritanza said, so long as they are eventually paid.

“If they have the payments they were making, that’s something we’ll have to address on a one-on-one basis,” he said. “Our intention is ... to let them continue paying on their contract.”

Anyone who had a contract previously, but had to pay out-of-pocket to bury a loved one during the past year while the cemetery was in receivership, will not be reimbursed by DeArbor.

“That took place before we took over, so that’s not something we’ll have anything to do with,” he said. “That will be up to the Department of Insurance.”

A representative from the Department of Insurance did not return a message seeking comment.

Arboritanza said he is looking forward to getting the local cemetery back in operation.

“We’re really excited to come in and be a part of the community,” he said. “I think people will really be pleased with a lot of the improvements and changes we’ll be making.”

The re-opening of the office should also create some local job opportunities, Arboritanza said.

“We’re going to need a maintenance staff, some administrative help and counselors to meet with families,” he said.

More information about DeArbor can be found at the company’s Web site (http://www.dearborllc.com).



‰ Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 225.