Pennsylvania has Four Types of Cemetery Governance Models: 

In the US, cemeteries generally fall into four broad categories: public, private-religious, private-nonprofit, and private-for-profit—each defined by distinct ownership structures and subject to different regulatory frameworks. 

• Public Cemeteries—such as national veterans’ cemeteries—are typically open to the general public, maintained by government agencies, and supported by public funds.

• Private-Religious Cemeteries are typically owned and operated by churches or religious organizations. 

• Private-Nonprofit Cemeteries, such as those managed by community associations or cemetery corporations (like the Erie Cemetery Association), are organized under the state’s nonprofit corporation laws. 

While both religious and private nonprofit cemeteries are privately owned, they generally operate without a profit motive, remain accountable to their governing bodies, and are legally required to reinvest proceeds into operations and grounds upkeep.

By contrast, private for-profit cemeteries, such as Lakeside, are owned by individuals or corporations, with the land treated as a commercial asset. These cemeteries function as businesses, generating revenue through the sale of burial plots, service fees, headstone sales, and maintenance charges. Some states, such as New York, prohibit this ownership model entirely in order to protect the public interest and ensure accountability. Others—including Illinois, Minnesota, and California—permit for-profit cemeteries to operate but impose strict licensing, reporting, and oversight requirements to safeguard consumers and public welfare.

Pennsylvania, however, places only minimal restrictions on for-profit cemetery ownership. The primary statutory requirements are that a portion of each plot sale be deposited into a perpetual-care trust fund intended to ensure ongoing maintenance of the grounds, and that cemetery operators file periodic financial statements accounting for those funds. Beyond these limited financial safeguards, there is little proactive oversight of cemetery ownership, operations, or long-term compliance.

In Pennsylvania, cemeteries are classified as private real estate and may be bought or sold like any other commercial property—even when they are historic, contain generations of graves, or hold the remains of thousands of community members. Oversight is limited and largely reactive, falling loosely under the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission and typically triggered only after a private citizen files a complaint. As a result, meaningful review of cemetery operations, financial practices, and long-term care obligations often occurs only after serious problems have already emerged.

Bad Business: When Private-For-Profit Cemeteries Go Unchecked

🚩 Lakeside LLC’s operation exhibits multiple red flags commonly associated with failing private cemeteries in Pennsylvania, including severely neglected grounds—even during major holidays—county tax seizures, unaccounted-for perpetual-care funds, and repeated ownership turnover despite the LLC itself remaining unchanged. Similar patterns were observed at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Gettysburg and at Mount Moriah and Mount Peace Cemeteries in Philadelphia, where government intervention was ultimately required to protect the sites and the remains entrusted to them. 🚩

Many of these issues stem from Pennsylvania’s treatment of for-profit cemeteries as private real estate that may be bought, sold, or transferred like any other commercial property. As described earlier, unlike states that regulate cemeteries through dedicated oversight boards, Pennsylvania imposes minimal requirements on private, for-profit cemetery ownership or operation. The Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission’s role is largely limited to registration and complaint-based enforcement; it does not conduct routine inspections and has constrained authority to monitor ongoing compliance.

At Lakeside, the effects of this limited regulatory framework are evident. Over a period of just more than three years, operational control of the grounds changed hands three times—each transfer occurring within the same LLC, which has held the deed since 2005—with the most recent change taking place without notice to families. Because Pennsylvania does not require formal qualifications, training, or orientation for cemetery operators, individuals assuming control may not be fully informed of existing legal obligations, contractual duties, or perpetual-care requirements at the time they take over operations. The use of an LLC ownership structure can further obscure who is actually responsible for managing the cemetery, with accountability typically arising only after misconduct is formally established. As a result, families’ contractual rights to interment, upkeep, and access may exist on paper but are often difficult to enforce in practice, leaving families with few clear avenues for assistance or recourse.

Under current law, cemetery owners retain broad discretion over staffing and are not required to employ trained or credentialed personnel. Over the past year, multiple visitors have reported incidents involving harassment, threats, and, in some cases, physical confrontations with individuals working at or associated with Lakeside. Witnesses have stated that certain staff members, placed by the cemetery’s owner, referred to the grounds as their “personal property” while confronting visitors in ways described as rude or intimidating.

Unlike a failing business, families cannot simply disengage from a poorly managed cemetery, even when contractual obligations to those families are no longer being honored. Their loved ones are buried there, and the expectation of care was meant to be permanent. For many families, this leaves them feeling powerless, unsure where to turn, and uncertain whether the dignity of their loved ones’ resting place will be respected.

From Caretaker to Carelessness

For decades, Lakeside was cared for by private owner Renée Jaquel, known for her meticulous upkeep of both her own lawn at home and the cemetery. By 2021, however, Renée’s health was in decline, and she handed operations to her brother, Vernon. With his own health failing, the grounds began to show signs of disrepair. That Memorial Day, distraught visitors called local news outlets in tears, prompting a formal apology and a swift cleanup—but the damage was done. Renée passed a few years later, and by the end of 2021, ownership of the LLC had transferred from the Jaquels to local mason Kirk Girosky and his wife, Ashley.

According to Lakeside families, the Giroskys were initially engaged and present—often on-site, working directly with families and handling both administrative and maintenance duties. They hired a dedicated young groundskeeper who was there almost daily, mowing the grass and tending the property, while the Giroskys added personal touches like fresh flowers. For a time, it seemed the cemetery had turned a corner. But within two years, the couple experienced financial trouble and defaulted on the cemetery’s 2022 property taxes. By 2024, several families reported growing difficulty reaching the Giroskys about urgent matters like interments and headstone placements— likely a sign of mounting strain in the lead-up to the property’s Erie County tax sale.

Auctioned by County for Less Than a New Car

Lakeside’s most recent ownership change occurred in January 2025, after the land failed to sell at a 2024 Erie County tax auction for just $27,349.79 in unpaid 2022 property taxes. After Memorial Day 2021 was marred by uncharacteristically neglected grounds under longtime owners, the Jaquels, followed by a county tax seizure for unpaid back taxes under the Giroskys, local officials had an opportunity to intervene. Options included seeking a nonprofit steward, inviting community oversight, or initiating preservation efforts.

Instead, the land remained subject to resale for the cost of back taxes during a 2024 Erie County tax auction, again making the cemetery available to any private owner able to meet the upset price. That price was shockingly low for land containing the graves of veterans from nearly every major U.S. conflict since the Civil War, including war hero Capt. Charles Gridley, children gone-too-soon, a significant portion of Erie’s Black community, and notable civic leaders such as the founder of Erie’s Jefferson Educational Society. Intending to return a 129-year-old burial ground to private ownership under these circumstances, despite a recent history of documented maintenance and financial issues, raised significant concerns among families and community members.

When the cemetery land failed to sell at the 2024 tax auction, the outstanding taxes were subsequently paid, and Henry Earl Howze Jr. acquired the LLC that holds title to the land—not the land itself. As a result, the transaction did not involve a deed transfer and did not trigger the level of public notice or review typically associated with a land sale. No continuity-of-care plan accompanied the change in control. Families were left unaware that another ownership change had occurred within the LLC and were provided no information regarding responsibility for prepaid plots, maintenance obligations, or long-term care.

By early 2025, deterioration was evident. Roads went unplowed during winter, blocking access to graves. By spring, the grounds were overgrown, phone lines were disconnected or unanswered, and there was no visible staff presence, website, or reliable point of contact. By Memorial Day 2025, it was apparent to the public that Lakeside had entered a state of near abandonment, leaving families without answers or clear avenues for assistance.

Despite multiple controversies since his acquisition of the LLC in January 2025, the new owner has remained publicly silent regarding ongoing grounds neglect, reported staff misconduct, and unresolved questions surrounding the perpetual-care funds.

No Experience Required

Unlike other death-care professionals, such as licensed funeral directors, cemetery owners in Pennsylvania are not required to meet qualifications, undergo training, or obtain a license. Once purchased, a cemetery can be run entirely at the owner’s discretion.

Operators are not expected to demonstrate competence in maintaining burial records or plot maps, managing perpetual care funds, preserving headstones and grounds, or overseeing human remains during disinterments and reinterments—which require only a permit as a “cemetery official.” State oversight is minimal and typically triggered only by complaints. 

These regulatory gaps allowed 27-year-old Henry Earl Howze Jr., a self-employed construction contractor with no apparent cemetery experience, to assume control of historic Lakeside. In 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Howze Jr. also helped launch an Erie branch of the Pittsburgh-based House of Paradise Cremation and Funeral Services Inc., a funeral home located just five minutes from Lakeside. There is no public record that he ever obtained full licensure as a funeral director, and his preliminary training credentials appear to have also expired.

Since acquiring the cemetery LLC. in January 2025, Howze Jr. has reportedly assigned key operational duties at Lakeside not to trained professionals—such as cemetery administrators, sextons, or licensed groundskeepers—but to friends, relatives, and close associates who appear to have little or no formal background in cemetery management. One of these individuals, 25-year-old Xavier Graham, now functions as Lakeside’s primary caretaker. According to his publicly available LinkedIn profile, Graham’s most recent employment was in snack-food manufacturing. Observers note that this staffing approach mirrors the pattern seen at Howze Jr.’s House of Paradise Funeral Home, where similar reliance on uncredentialed associates has been reported.

***Disclaimer, Terms of Use, and Anti-Defamation Notice***

Legal Disclaimer & Anti-Defamation Notice

All content on this website is provided “as is” for general informational purposes. The statements, summaries, accounts, and descriptions included herein are based on personal experiences, witness accounts, and publicly available sources. Nothing on this website should be construed as verified findings, legal advice, professional conclusions, or as a definitive statement of fact.

I make no representation or warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or timeliness of any information presented. Any views or interpretations expressed on this website are personal opinions. Readers are encouraged to independently evaluate all information and draw their own conclusions.

Anti-Defamation Notice

The content on this website is not intended to assert, imply, or allege that any individual or organization has engaged in unlawful, negligent, unethical, or improper conduct. No statements on this site should be interpreted as established fact, formal accusations, or verified claims.

If any individual or entity believes information contained herein is inaccurate, outdated, or misleading, they are encouraged to contact me with supporting details. Upon review, and if appropriate, corrections or removals will be made. I expressly disclaim any intent to harm the reputation of any person, business, or organization.

No Legal or Professional Advice

The information provided on this website does not constitute legal, financial, professional, or regulatory advice. Visitors should consult appropriate licensed professionals for advice specific to their situation.

External Links

This website may contain links to external websites or documents. These links are provided for convenience only. I do not endorse or assume responsibility for the content, accuracy, or policies of any third-party sites.

User Responsibility

By using this website, visitors acknowledge that they are solely responsible for how they interpret, use, or rely upon any information provided. Visitors agree that the website owner shall not be held liable for any loss, harm, or damages arising from reliance on the information presented.