Grand View Memorial Park and Crematory is a historic cemetery located in Glendale, California, in the United States.

[3] The burial ground was purchased by local builder Len C. Davis in 1919 and incorporated in late December[4] with capital stock worth $20,000 ($300,000 in 2023 dollars).

[7] Significant improvements were made[7] which included the addition of a 40-foot (12 m) high, electrically illuminated arch over the entrance on Glenwood Road.

[19] Davis sold the cemetery for $2 million ($40,100,000 in 2023 dollars) in March 1931 to a group of investors that included E. H. Dimity, Charles H. Johnston, and William H. Kittle.

Local real estate developer David W. Hepburn was hired that same year to manage the cemetery, and purchased the burial ground some time between 1930 and 1946.

[30] According to Trimble, there were extensive cemetery practice, maintenance, and record-keeping problems at Grand View long before Howard purchased the burial ground.

Howard purchased a riding lawn mower, began regular mowing of the site, and started straightening headstones.

SCAQMD issued three notices that the cemetery had violated air pollution control standards, and one order of abatement by the end of 2003.

The agency did, however, issue a warning letter to Grand View Memorial in 2004 about its failure to maintain cemetery markers and plot boundary barriers in an acceptable condition.

[29] In the spring of 2004, the state of California enacted legislation giving the CFB authority to inspect cemeteries and other burial sites on an annual basis (not just when a complaint was filed).

[29] The CFB launched a broader investigation into the cemetery's practices with an eye to turning over evidence to the Los Angeles County District Attorney for possible criminal prosecution.

[28] Those with loved ones buried at Grand View Memorial Park, and those who had purchased plot there, were outraged at the revelations, and within 10 days of the news had filed a numerous civil lawsuits against the cemetery in Los Angeles Superior Court.

[28] An examination of the cemetery's financial records indicated that Howard had commingled corporate funds with her personal assets and those of other businesses she owned.

[39] The agency then accused Howard, Goldsman, and the cemetery as a corporation with 14 major violations of state law and regulations, including fraud, improper use of funds, mishandling of remains, negligence, and reselling graves.

[28] She was left destitute by her suspension, lost her health insurance, and was able to pay for diabetic medication only after receiving financial help from a friend.

[45] In October 2006, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr placed Grand View Memorial Park under a preservation order, which barred anyone from altering or destroying the cemetery or any of its buildings, grounds, or contents.

Another 200 trees were so badly damaged that they posed an immediate risk of dropping branches on visitors, and the lack of irrigation had rendered the entire cemetery an extreme fire hazard.

Under existing law, this allowed the city to engage in maintenance activities at the site without the court or owners' consent in order to ensure that public health and safety were preserved.

[47][o] Winning the nuisance abatement order forced the full closure of Grand View Memorial Park, barring all families and visitors from the graveyard.

The entire cemetery was covered by an above-ground irrigation system, the knee-high grass was mowed, and the pruning and removal of trees began at an estimated cost of $105,400 ($149,297 in 2023 dollars).

[49][p] Four abandoned vehicles (including a hearse) were also removed, and repairs were made to all cemetery buildings to secure them against unauthorized entry.

[49] Some time after the initial abatement effort was completed, the Los Angeles Superior Court ordered Grand View Memorial Park opened every other Sunday and on holidays to allow visitation of graves.

[52] As legal proceedings against Grand View Memorial Park progressed, several families sought and won permission from the Superior Court to have their loved ones disinterred from the cemetery.

Moshe Goldsman, the sole remaining living stockholder, admitted to three violations of law, all of which concerned taking money from the perpetual care fund.

To settle these claims, Goldsman agreed to sell the cemetery within three years and to reimburse the perpetual care fund $50,000 ($73,471 in 2023 dollars).

Using plans drawn up by a landscape architect, between $300,000 and $400,000 ($419,167 to $558,889 in 2023 dollars) was spent installing the permanent in-ground irrigation system and planting new trees, shrubs, and grass.

The cemetery office was cleaned and a rodent-proof records storage space constructed, and the roof in the West Mausoleum was repaired.

[37] Goldman placed Grand View up for sale again in September 2007 after resolution of the lawsuits, asking $1 million ($1,500,000 in 2023 dollars) for the burial ground.

After four years of minimal maintenance, the new owners kept the cemetery open only one day a week while funds were spent restoring the site.

Heritage Cemetery Management began locating graves which had become overgrown by grass and uncovering them, renovating the chapel, and repairing the north and west mausoleums.