Memorial Day Ceremony Planned for Galilee Memorial Gardens

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) is working with community leaders on a possible Memorial Day remembrance event and afternoon visitation ceremony on the grounds of Galilee Memorial Gardens in Bartlett, Tenn.

 “We are thankful for our partners in Bartlett who have been instrumental in helping us plan and prepare for an event that we hope will bring healing to family members unjustly affected by the previous ownership at Galilee Memorial Gardens,” said TDCI Deputy Commissioner Bill Giannini.

 The cemetery has been closed since 2014 by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) in the wake of the cemetery’s financial difficulties and criminal investigation. Since that time, TDCI officials and the cemetery’s court-appointed receivers have kept Galilee Memorial Gardens closed to the public because of safety issues created on the property by the cemetery’s former owners.

 After months of assessing the cemetery’s numerous financial and legal issues created by its former ownership, TDCI officials believe enough of the cemetery’s issues and hazards have been alleviated to allow a limited visitation ceremony.

 “As we continue to work through the array of problems left by the cemetery’s former owners, we are tirelessly committed to providing as much peace and comfort as we can to the families of loved ones buried in Galilee Cemetery” Giannini said.

 More specific details about the Memorial Day event are still being finalized and will be communicated in upcoming news releases and through TDCI’s social media channels.