According to a City of Shawnee Press release, the city is making continued progress in the ongoing effort surrounding the Fairview Mausoleum.

“Following the latest court hearing, the city will proceed with the court-approved Abatement Plan,” the release states.

As part of this process, the city will issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to engage a licensed funeral director to oversee the disinterment and reinterment of those currently housed in the Fairview Mausoleum.

“This individual will also assist families in obtaining any necessary state permits,” the press release reads.

Families will be presented with the following options:

• At no cost to the family, next of kin may opt to relocate their family member(s) to a permanent, earthen resting place within the Fairview Cemetery;
• At no cost to the family, next of kin may choose cremation for their loved one; or
• At their own expense, next of kin may elect to bury their family member(s) elsewhere

“It is important to emphasize that no actions will be taken without the next of kin’s consent,” the release states. “In cases where no next of kin can be located, the city will arrange for an earthen burial in the Fairview Cemetery.”

There was no indication in the press release that referred to a deadline upon which the city would take action to make arrangements for burial when kin could not be located.

“We are grateful to have reached a resolution that enables us to maintain a peaceful and respectful resting place for our community,” Shawnee City Manager Andrea Weckmueller-Behringer said. “The City of Shawnee’s priority now is ensuring that those currently interred in the mausoleum will have a permanent, dignified resting place for loved ones to visit.”

Background

In January, the Shawnee City Commission approved a resolution declaring that a nuisance exists at the Fairview Mausoleum and authorized the city to initiate a legal proceeding in the District Court of Pottawatomie County.

The Fairview Mausoleum, owned by the Fairview Mausoleum Association, Inc., is in a severely dilapidated state and no longer safe to the public,” City Attorney Joe Vorndran said in January. “Specifically, the mausoleum is structurally unsound and exposed to the outside elements, and therefore poses the risk of disease, injury, and loss of life in the use of the property.”

He said, “Unfortunately, the owners have failed to take action with regard to remediating the facility, and it has left the city in the undesirable position of having to close the Fairview Mausoleum to protect the safety of visitors and those interred within it.”

The city closed the mausoleum to the public in December 2023, and ever since then city officials have been sorting out their options.

“Due to the complex nature of this type of nuisance abatement, we are pursuing a procedure that is available under Oklahoma law that allows for District Court supervision and abatement of a nuisance within a municipality,” he explained, adding this path was chosen, “due to the sanctity of the human remains that are within the mausoleum, and not knowing for certain what the potential solutions will look like going forward.”

He said the city wanted court oversight.

“We wanted to be able to provide proper notice, under said court oversight, to next of kin of all interred within,” he said, “and it creates transparency as we move forward and attempt to hold the owners of the mausoleum accountable for this dilapidated state.” After initiating the legal action, in August 23rd District Court Judge John Canavan ruled on the city’s proposed mitigation plan and designated the city as commissioner to oversee the abatement of the Mausoleum.

For questions

For more information, call the City of Shawnee at (405) 878-1601.

Watch for updates.