Testimonials
Here are some testimonials from some of the cemeteries that we’ve restored.
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Commerce Township, Mi
Dave Carter of Carter’s Cemetery Preservation has been doing work for the Charter Township of Commerce for over 7 years. Dave communicates with the township on a regular basis. He is always readily available when needed. When asked, he has provided the Township Board with photos and a summary on the work he has completed. Dave not only does work in our cemeteries; he is a resident of Commerce Township. I feel very fortunate to have him local and his love for his community truly shows in his hard work.
I would highly recommend Carter’s Cemetery Preservation to any community based on Dave’s experience, knowledge, professionalism, passion and dedication.
Melissa Creech, Mi PMC
Clerk, Charter Township of Commerce
Lyon Township, Mi
The New Hudson Cemetery in Lyon Township, Oakland County Michigan had many gravestones that were in desperate need of repair. Many of the stones were broken, discolored, buried and unreadable. We were so lucky to have contracted with Carter Cemetery Preservation to repair the stones. Dave Carter takes so much pride in his work; he is detail oriented in the repair and preservation of the gravestones. Keeping the stones in pristine condition will allow for future generations to visit.
Michele Cash
Lyon Township Clerk
Clarkston, Mi
In 2020, Sashabaw Plains Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, created a three year Lakeview Cemetery Restoration Project. Dave Carter and his team of Carter Cemetery Preservation was chosen to do the professional work. Over 118 headstones, tablets, monuments, and obelisks were cleaned, leveled, and repaired in 2021. The project will continue in 2022.
Dave Carter loves his work, is professional, prompt, a very good communicator, and a very nice guy. I highly recommend Carter Cemetery Preservation. Come see the cleaned and restored stones in Lakeview Cemetery in Clarkston, corner of Dixie Highway and White Lake Road!
Charlotte Cooper
Sashabaw Plains DAR
Potter Cemetery Monroe, Mi
Mr. Carter and his crew began working at the cemetery in July 2013. From the start, Dave was polite, friendly, professional, meticulous, doing lots of measuring, etc., had a great crew and was very understanding of our limited days of work at the cemetery due to a 2010 court order and of our limited budget. His quote was very reasonable and with beginning an adopt-a-stone fundraiser, private donations and other fundraisers, we were able to pay Mr. Carter in a timely manner. It took about two years to complete the work which included up righting obelisks and monuments, putting markers back together, grouting, cleaning and alike. David never pressured us for payment!
To this day David continues to do work for us as needed. I have visited 2-3 cemeteries he recently did work in and, as always, it looks great! What he can do is amazing and appreciated by historical organizations, family members and others. He remains as dedicated and professional as he was when I first met him in 2012.
Sincerely,
Sue A. Donovan
President
Livonia, Mi
Carter’s Cemetery Preservation Inc. began working in Livonia’s historic cemeteries in 2012. Since then, Dave and his dedicated, conscientious team have drastically improved the overall appearance of our cemeteries. The care and attention given to each headstone is exceptional. We are truly blessed to have such an excellent company to help us preserve our local history.
Emily Tchorz-Fielder
Program Supervisor
City of Livonia | Greenmead
(248) 477-7375
etchorz@livonia.gov
www.livoniaparks.org
Banks Twp, Mi
David and all of the team of Carter Cemetery Preservation have been a joy to work with! They have worked at our four cemeteries annually to restore and repair the markers to their original beauty. They have demonstrated expertise in their work as well as professionalism in their actions.
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Donna,
Banks Township
Novi, Mi
The City of Novi has been working with Carter’s Cemetery Preservation on the restoration and preservation of two cemeteries. Each feature graves from the 1830s and there are more than 1030 individual graves total. Dave and his team have done an excellent job restoring headstones in each cemetery and we are very pleased with the results. They have also been able to respond quickly to repair broken or vandalized stones and always offer a fair and accurate assessment of the damages and associated costs. I highly recommend Dave Carter and Carter’s Cemetery Preservation.
Jeffrey A. Muck| Director Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services
City of Novi | 45175 Ten Mile Road | Novi, MI 48375 USA
t: 248.347.0402 | c: 517.404.2931 | cityofnovi.org
Lake Orion, Mi
The Paint Creek Cemetery, located in Oakland Township, is an old cemetery with an active association managing its burials and maintenance. The PCCA Board started an ongoing project of monument repairs ten years ago. We currently hire Dave Carter, who has learned his craft from the noted John Walters of Indiana.
Dave has been an exceptional contractor to work with as we do our yearly repairs. He is honest, accommodating and skilled in his trade! We are very pleased with the work completed and feel the cost is affordable even for a small cemetery budget! I would welcome anyone who wants to visit our cemetery and inspect Dave’s work. We feel lucky to have found someone who is local and is skilled in doing monument repairs!
Colleen Barkham
President PCCA
248-652-0712
Pinckney, Mi
It is with great pleasure that I write a letter of recommendation for Dave Carter. I found Dave after attending a conference in Monroe, Michigan where his work was shown in one of their Pioneer Cemeteries. They were very pleased with his preservation and highly recommended him.
We contacted him for work in the Historical Section of our Pinckney Cemetery. Dave came out and toured our cemetery to give us some estimates for repair work on our long-neglected grave stones. The cost estimate was very reasonable considering the degree of work that would be needed. He was very honest with us about the condition of our stones. He discussed with us what work would be needed and also warned us that some stones might not be able to be saved. He also advised us what we could do ourselves to maintain the stones from additional damage and to keep them looking good going forward.
Dave’s passion for this work was evident the first day on the job. He and his crew worked tirelessly, even on the weekends to restore our old stones. They found a stone that had been long buried and the excitement they showed with this discovery made us true believers that we could count on him to bring our cemetery heritage back to life. The work he has done has been incredible. The stones look as if they had just been placed on the graves. I might add that those stones we thought would not be salvageable look great.
I also had Dave do some work for me personally in the Clarenceville Cemetery with my ancestor’s stone from 1875. It was partially buried and the writing was not legible. It now proudly stands tall for all to read. You can count on Dave Carter and Carter Cemetery Preservation. He and his well-trained crew take pride in their mission to restore the history of each stone for future generations.
Sincerely,
Linda Van Blaricum
Pinckney Cemetery Board
Bruce Twp, Mi
“Last year our centennial cemetery, Goodrich, was vandalized. Nearly 40 very old headstones and various other memorials were destroyed. We contacted Dave Carter and that was the best call we could have made. He came out on the day we had a community clean up and helped us from the beginning. Not only donating his time, but making sure we were doing things correctly. He taught others how to restore stones properly.
His expertise stopped us from apply glue, baling wire or whatever just to get the job done. After squaring away the insurance claim Dave and his crew were back and the job they did was exceptional. If anyone needs his service, you will be happy with his work.”