P.O. Box 26605
Overland Park, KS 66225
9501 W. 159th Street
(913) 444-0107
pleasantvalleyks
@gmail.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Pleasant Valley Cemetery has a large trash container located behind the enclosure at the far southwest corner of the cemetery at the second turnaround. Unfortunately, we have to keep it locked because outsiders have a tendency to fill up the container as quickly as we can have it emptied. However, if you have small trash to discard, please place it in the trash container on the east side of the larger unit. This, in turn, will be dumped into the large container as it fills up. If you have a bag or bags of trash resulting from cemetery cleanup, please place them behind the trash container and we’ll move them into the bin.
We do have a unisex porta potty located behind the enclosure at the far southwest corner of the cemetery at the second turnaround.
Pleasant Valley is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. However, we do lock the gates the day before, the day of and the day after Halloween from Sunset to sunrise. Note that the cemetery is patrolled by the Overland Park Police Department from time to time.
The main entrance to Pleasant Valley Cemetery is off 159th Street with the right turn only entry through the arch. This is an entrance, NOT an exit. You can exit via the far east road in the cemetery or through the east gate and onto Hayes Street out to 159th Street. Please note that all heavy equipment is prohibited from entering or exiting via Hayes Street and/or the East (Sanford) Gate. Heavy equipment is to use the main gate but watch for the height of the arch (14-Feet).
All lots are 36 inches wide by six feet deep. Headstones for a single lot must sit on a concrete or granite foundation base that does not exceed 36 inches for a single lot and there must be a three (3) inch lip on all four sides of the monument headstone. This allows you a 30-inch headstone for a single space and 66-inch headstone for a double space.
We leave that decision up to the individual families. It is recommended that the detailed information be placed on one side and the family name on the other side. This makes it easier to locate a monument. Typically, the detailed information faces the closest internal road, but the center row can go either direction.
The headstone denotes just that, the head of the grave. All graves in Pleasant Valley Cemetery face to the east. Traditionally, the man is on the right and the woman on the left. However, that decision is up to the family.
Each plot contains five (5) 36-inch spaces running from south to north as you face east. Spaces are lettered A, B, C, D, E. There is a 36-inch walkway on the right of Space A and to the left of Space E. Spaces in Section 9 and Sections C and D contain six (6) spaces per lot lettered A through F. Same walkway applies as above.
Pleasant Valley Cemetery is approximately two-thirds filled. The final South section of the cemetery has been platted and Sections C and D opened in the Spring of 2019. Sections B and D are platted, but not marked and are being held in reserve for future use. The south end is reserved for a future Columbarium Park.
At Pleasant Valley Cemetery, perpetual care is built into purchase price of the lot. While we cannot predict the future, currently Pleasant Valley is in a very comfortable financial position regarding perpetual care. A Perpetual Care Trust Fund has been established to guarantee the future upkeep of the Cemetery. Additionally, we are a Taxing District which would allow us to collect taxes to maintain the cemetery should we ever need it. Currently we have not asked for the tax to be collected and we don’t see a need in the immediate future.
Pleasant Valley Cemetery does maintain a list of monument companies that have done work within the cemetery. That list is located on this website under the Resources Tab. We don’t endorse companies, but provide this list as a reference tool for you to research. They all do excellent work!
Pleasant Valley Cemetery does maintain a list of funeral homes that have done work within the cemetery. That list is located on this website under the Resources Tab. We don’t endorse any of these companies, but provide this list as a reference tool for you to research. They all do excellent work!
Pleasant Valley Cemetery does not offer the option of providing for two (2) regular burials in a single lot due to a large rock ledge beneath the ground surface. However, you do have the option of having one regular burial and one cremation in a single lot or two cremations in a single lot. There is an additional charge of $500 for the second burial in a single lot or in a Columbarium Niche. Under special circumstances, we will allow one (1) regular burial and up to two (2) cremation burials in a single lot (or three (3) cremation burials). Each additional burial is $500. Note: All prices are subject to change so please check the fees tab on this website for the latest pricing.
We do offer the option of placing two (2) sets of cremains in the same niche in the Columbarium for an additional charge of $500. If you do this, you need to be very careful about the selection of the two (2) cremains containers as the space is only 11 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 11 ¾ inches. If the second container will not fit, you will be required to purchase a second niche and there may not be one available near your original purchase. Note: All prices are subject to change so please check the fees tab on this website for the latest pricing.
Pleasant Valley Cemetery does not have the option of offering a purchase “on time” or offering a payment plan. The reason for this is that we do not maintain an office and, therefore, do not have the capabilities of following up. However, we will allow you to select a space and put a 60-day hold on the space. After 60 days, the space goes back in the regular inventory and is available for purchase by the general public.
Pleasant Valley Cemetery does have a group called Friends of PVC who perform light general maintenance and landscaping duties. You work at your own pace and on your own schedule. You would be provided guidance on what tasks should and should not be performed. Pleasant Valley relies heavily on its volunteers and your help would be much appreciated. To join Friends of PVC, please call (913) 444-0107 or email to: Pleasantvalleyks@gmail.com
Pleasant Valley Cemetery does maintain records through our Cemetery Information Management System (CIMS). This service provides us with a burial search tool. If you go to our website (www.pleasantvalleyks.org) and click on the Search Burial Records button and you will see a screen where you can enter the last name of the deceased or of the lot owner and it will provide you with a list. Select the appropriate entry and you will see the space location. You can eliminate the side window(s) by clicking the small blue arrows along the side. You can then navigate throughout the cemetery. A legend will show you the coloring scheme so you can determine available spaces for sale. There is also a QR code on the outside of the George Boyd Memorial Chapel that will give you GPS walking and other navigation instructions to any gravesite within our cemetery.
Pleasant Valley removes ALL decorations from gravesites on the first non-rainy, non-Easter weekend in April and again on the first non-rainy weekend in October. This includes flowers placed in vases and/or on top of headstones. We do this in the spring to get rid of all the holiday arrangements and to prepare the cemetery for the Memorial Day decorations. In the Fall, we remove the spring/summer arrangements to allow for Fall and holiday decorations. If you have a particular decoration you wish to save, please remove it prior to these two weekends. Also, do not decorate prior to these two weekends or you run the risk of having your decoration removed. There is also an informal cleanup “around” June 15, but this is designed to remove ONLY decorations placed in front of or behind a headstone. We do this so that the mowers and trimmers can have an easier time and not damage decorations. At no time are mementoes removed unless they are in the way of the mowers or are in disrepair.
We do allow for decorations to be placed in front of or behind a headstone between mid-April and mid-June only. After that, they are removed to allow for the mowers to have an easier time mowing.
Any Shepard’s staff or flag holder without a flag are removed for safety reasons and liability. If you wish to maintain a Shepard’s staff, please make sure that you keep something on the staff or it will be removed. Also, keep flags on flag holders and see that they are in good shape and season appropriate. If not, they will be removed. Make sure that all flags are secured tightly as the wind really blows hard throughout the entire cemetery. When we remove them, they are placed in our maintenance shed and kept for six months and then donated to Habitat for Humanity.
We do not encourage you to plant any bushes or annuals on a grave site as we do not maintain those plants and they grow wild and often unsightly. If we see this happening, we will remove the plant from your site. They can be planted ONLY if you maintain them vigilantly. However, this is NOT encouraged!
You cannot place an in-ground vase in front of or behind a monument at any time. If you do, we will not accept liability if it gets hit by a mower which often happens. In-ground vases may be placed on the right of left of a headstone if there is room. If you want a vase in conjunction with your monument stone, it is recommended that you purchase a non-metal vase that is permanently attached to the monument itself. Just do not exceed the lot(s) dimensions.
When you are ready to place cremains in the ground, you have three options:
- You can have a funeral home prepare the space for you.
- You can have Pleasant Valley Cemetery prepare the space for you. Ask for details and pricing.
- You can prepare the space yourself.
If you prepare the space yourself, we require a 25 x 25 x 25-inch space and you must return the ground to as close to its original look as possible. Also, you cannot do this yourself unless you first notify the cemetery that you are doing this and when.
Pleasant Valley Cemetery does not allow for the spreading of ashes on the ground within the cemetery. We have too much activity within the cemetery and find it to be a disrespectful practice to have mowers and individuals walking on cremains. If that is your wish, there are probably better places for this to happen.
There is a right turn only turn from 159th Street as you are going east. You would pass through the arch. You can also turn on Hayes Street on the west side of Redeemer Church and proceed about one-fourth block and enter through the (side) Sanford Gate.
To exit, you can take the last internal road on the east side and exit to the east on 159th Street. You can also go out the Sanford Gate onto Hayes Street and proceed north to 159th Street and turn left or right.