Why Community Efforts Aren’t Enough To Save Oahu’s Aging Cemeteries 1 Only a fraction of cemeteries on the island are licensed by the state and not all have a perpetual care fund to cover maintenance costs after the cemetery fills up.
At Makiki Cemetery, ankle-high weeds completely obscure some headstones. Gravestones are sinking or toppled over at Sunset Memorial Park in Pearl City. Feral chicken flocks roam the gravesites at Ket On Society Cemetery in Honolulu.
Oahu is home to more than 80 public cemeteries, some dating back to the mid-1800s. But it’s not just the island’s oldest cemeteries that are in danger of falling into disrepair. A growing number of actively used cemeteries on Hawaii’s most populous island are struggling with maintenance issues and facing financial challenges as cemetery owners run out of financial resources or plot space to sell.
“It’s a common problem,” said Charles Wong, president of the Lin Yee Chung Association, a nonprofit that owns the historic Manoa Chinese Cemetery. “Once the cemetery is full, and there are no more plots left to be sold, the income stream dries up, and then you don’t have the money to maintain the cemetery anymore.”
