Out of respect for the loved one’s family, and the cemetery team that cares for the grounds all year long, it’s best practice to connect with both to be given permission to do any work on a monument or headstone.
Start with cemetery permission. Most cemetery contact information can be found on the township, city, or county website. If the cemetery is designated as a city park, the city’s Parks and Recreation team can help you. Hint: Cemeteries like to hear what materials you’ll be working with, and what kind of training you have, to help protect the stone’s integrity.
Connect with someone in the interred’s family for approval to work on the stone. For older stones, that family line may have ended, or relatives may not know of the family member buried there. For those, I exercise what I call “implied approval” - that, if family were present, they would want the stone cared for.
