Broken and toppled gravestones spoil the sanctity of Gorham burial grounds, a member of a town’s cemetery advisory committee said May 11, about two weeks before Memorial Day.

But Dennis Morton is not blaming Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak or Public Works Director Terry Deering. They inherited the problem, Morton said, as various private cemetery associations faded away or maintenance funds dried up over decades.

Morton, citing state law, advocates town action to begin repositioning the multitude of downed stones in several cemeteries. “This is a great town,” Morton said. “This is a disgrace.”

Gorham maintains 12 cemeteries, according to town information, on a total of more than 30 acres.

“Nobody is an advocate for these cemeteries,” said Morton, a descendent of an early Gorham landowner.

He is one of seven members appointed by the Town Council in 2025 to a cemetery advisory committee. The committee was to meet on June 10 and Nov. 25, 2025, and on Jan. 28 this year, according to agendas posted on the town’s website.

But the only minutes found are for this year’s meeting that was attended by Morton, two other committee members and one town councilor. The chair of the cemetery committee, if there is one, is not posted.

“We had zero guidelines,” Morton said about expected duties.

Morton single-handedly has inventoried town-managed cemeteries and recorded the number of toppled stones. He found that:

North Street has 20 stones down; Sapling Hill, 30; Shaw Mill, 21; South Gorham, 4; South Street Cemetery, 8; Dow Road Cemetery, 40; Eastern Cemetery, 200; Fort Hill, 20; and Hillside, 80.

He called the small, 1.15-acre Dow Road Cemetery the worst he saw. “It looks like a bomb went off,” Morton said. “It’s not OK not to do something.”

Morton said cemeteries with remaining associations are White Rock, with six down stones, and North Gorham, none.

The Town Council will consider a budget item on May 12 that seeks $33,760 for cemeteries.

“The funding covers burial costs, mowing and related expenses with a minor amount for general maintenance items,” Paraschak said in a May 11 email.

The funds allotted for care of cemeteries do not cover stone maintenance.

Morton has a $45,000 estimate from a monument company to fix stones at Sapling Hill and Hillside cemeteries. Morton got a $70,000 estimate to cover stone repairs at all town cemeteries, according to the Jan. 28 committee meeting minutes.

The figures do not cover cleaning stones. Deering said residents have permission to clean their family’s stones, but he couldn’t recommend a product to use without knowing the type of stone. “My recommendation would be to contact a stone company for their guidance,” Deering said in an email.

Morton said trained volunteers could be granted permission to clean stones.

Morton was interviewed in the 10-acre Eastern Cemetery at Main Street and Johnson Road. It’s a historic cemetery where he found the grave of Charles C. Shaw, a long-ago town high school principal and school namesake.

Besides damaged stones in Eastern Cemetery, Morton pointed to some fallen stones that have been run over and damaged by grass mowers.

State law says maintenance of veterans graves and headstones is the responsibility of municipalities or cemetery associations, he said. Municipalities are responsible for repairing and preserving other stones, if families can’t be located.

Morton suggests that Gorham “assign one or two people” from the town clerk’s office or public works as advocates/sextons for the town’s cemeteries and recommend upkeep. “They would present their findings to both (the) town manager and director of public works for budgeting,” Morton said.

For those willing to help, Morton suggested contributions could be made directly to the town with attention to the town clerk and earmarked “cemetery restoration.”

He also urged those supporting restorations to contact town councilors.