American Monument& Granite Co.
(330) 325-2500
American Monument& Granite Co.
(330) 325-2500
Akron’s Catholic cemetery since 1912, with more than 60,000 interments. Where it is, how to find a grave, when the decorations come off, and what the cemetery’s own rules say about a headstone, including one from a monument company like ours.
Holy Cross has served the Catholic community of Akron since 1912. In 1955 it came under the Catholic Cemeteries Association of the Diocese of Cleveland, which runs twenty cemeteries across the diocese and runs this one today. The association counts more than 60,000 interments at Holy Cross.
Besides graves, the grounds hold mausoleums and columbaria. The newest is the Mary Queen of Heaven Mausoleum, which the association lists with more than 300 crypts and 688 niches available.
Akron or Coventry? The address is Akron, and the cemetery calls itself Holy Cross, Akron. Summit County’s parcel records split the grounds between two districts: about 73 acres in Coventry Township, including the parcel that carries the 100 E. Waterloo Road address, and about 8 acres inside the City of Akron. It is the same cemetery and the same office either way.
History, figures, and hours are from the association’s Holy Cross page and its 2026 information guide; the districts are from the Summit County Fiscal Office parcel records (parcels 19-10416 and 67-63503). All checked 2026-11-01. The cemetery office is the authority on anything current.
Holy Cross runs on two seasons, and the changeover dates are the ones to know. The association’s decoration guidelines:
Label anything you leave with the name and the location of the grave, as the association asks. If something matters to you, take it home before the clearing date rather than hoping.
From the association’s decorations page, checked 2026-11-01. It notes that pick-up dates can move with the weather, and the office on (216) 641-7575, extension 7, is the authority, not this page.
The Catholic Cemeteries Association sells headstones itself, through its own family service representatives. Its published rules and forms also provide for a stone from an independent monument company, which is what we are. Either way the same rules apply to the stone. The second route, in the association’s own terms:
From the association’s Rules & Regulations (effective August 2026, section X) and the dealer forms on its vendor resources page, checked 2026-11-01. The association can change its rules without notice, and the cemetery office has the final word.
These come from the association’s rules and apply at every one of its cemeteries, Holy Cross included. They decide the design, so they are worth knowing before you fall for one.
Summarized from section X of the association’s Rules & Regulations, effective August 2026, checked 2026-11-01. The full rules run to forty-eight pages and the cemetery office interprets them; where this summary and the office differ, the office is right.
Memorials at Holy Cross must be granite. The association permits bronze at one of its cemeteries, Elmhurst Park in Avon, and not here.
Every marker and monument must carry at least one Christian symbol, and it must be the predominant one. One other symbol of meaning to the family is allowed on a two-foot marker and two on larger memorials, approved in advance and no larger than the Christian symbol.
The legal names of everyone buried in the grave must be on its memorial. Generally only those buried there are named; where the rules allow someone buried elsewhere, “in memory of” is added. A date of death is normally approved only once the burial has taken place.
A flat marker for one grave is 24 by 12 by 4 inches, and for two graves 48 by 12 by 4. A small upright on a single grave stands no more than 36 inches with its base. Uprights go only in monument areas or where the lot allows, approved case by case, and most areas do not allow one without a base. The office keeps the list of where monuments are permitted.
The association recommends against stone that is predominantly black, and a black marker needs a signed release from the family before it is approved. Worth knowing before you choose a color; our guide to granite colors covers the alternatives.
An etched portrait is permitted alongside the Christian symbol, up to 12 by 12 inches and subject to approval. Scripture and prayer come first in the rules’ order of preference for inscriptions, and a personally written saying needs the cemetery’s written approval.
We are a monument shop in Ravenna, about sixteen miles from Holy Cross, and we work in every cemetery in Summit County. Holy Cross is one of them. The granite is cut, lettered, and finished by hand in our own shop.
We ask the cemetery first, every time. At Holy Cross that means the section, what it permits, who pours the foundation and what the cemetery charges for it, before you have chosen anything. The rules above are why that matters here: the Christian symbol, the sizes, and the names all shape the design, and what you fall for should be something the cemetery will set. If it is not, you will hear it from us early, while changing your mind is still free.
If you would rather see granite in daylight than on a screen, the showroom in Ravenna is open weekdays, with evenings and weekends by appointment, and there is no obligation attached to walking in. Our Akron page covers the other cemeteries around the city.
The traditional standing headstone, for one name or two, or a family monument carrying several, in the sections and lots at Holy Cross that take them. Shape, granite color, carving, and etching are decided with you.
Flat markers and the pillow markers the association permits, in its set sizes, and slants where the section allows them. All in granite, since bronze is not permitted at Holy Cross.
Holy Cross permits granite prayer benches in approved places, such as the spaces between rows. A bench placed there is given to the cemetery for every visitor to use, and it can carry a family name and a prayer.
Holy Cross has columbaria and cremation graves. A memorial built to hold cremated remains can only go in areas the association designates for it, so that is the first question to put to the office.
Adding a date or a name to a stone already standing is done at the grave, after the cemetery approves the inscription application. Straightening a stone that has leaned or sunk is part of the same service.
Start with what to say rather than what to buy. Our guide to what to write on a headstone covers names, dates, epitaphs, and emblems, and granite colors explains which stone suits which kind of lettering.
100 E. Waterloo Rd., Akron, Ohio 44319. The office number is (216) 641-7575, extension 7. The grounds are open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm every day, and the office is open weekdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and Saturdays from 8:30 am to noon.
Both. The address is Akron, but Summit County’s parcel records split the grounds between two districts: about 73 acres in Coventry Township, including the parcel that carries the 100 E. Waterloo Road address, and about 8 acres inside the City of Akron.
The Catholic Cemeteries Association of the Diocese of Cleveland, since 1955. The cemetery itself has served Akron’s Catholic community since 1912, and the association counts more than 60,000 interments there.
The association has a Burial Search on its website and section maps on the Holy Cross page. It also points visitors to the Cemmansys app, which gives directions to a gravesite. Or call the office on (216) 641-7575, extension 7, with the name.
Yes. The association sells headstones itself, and its published rules and dealer forms also provide for a memorial from an independent monument company. A Dealer Memorial Application, signed by the owner of the grave and by the monument company, has to be approved by the cemetery before the stone is placed, and the rules recommend getting that approval before the stone is made.
It depends on the section, and the cemetery office keeps the list of where monuments are allowed and what sizes. The association’s rules set a flat marker for one grave at 24 by 12 by 4 inches, and a small upright on a single grave at no more than 36 inches tall including its base. Uprights go only in monument areas or where the lot allows, approved case by case. Tell us the section and we will ask before you choose anything.
Yes. The association’s rules require at least one Christian symbol on every marker and monument, and it has to be the predominant symbol. Another symbol of meaning to the family can be added if it is approved in advance and is no larger than the Christian symbol.
From November 1 to March 15, when wreaths and other artificial decorations are permitted, up to 36 inches tall and without spikes or stakes. For this winter, the association asks families to pick decorations up by March 15, 2027, and cemetery staff begin clearing them, crosses included, on March 17, 2027. From March 16 to October 31 only fresh flowers in proper bouquet holders are allowed.
Yes, and it is done at the grave. At Holy Cross an inscription application naming the company doing the work goes to the cemetery first. As a rule, the association approves a date of death only once the burial has taken place, and not while anything is still owed on the grave.
When you’re ready, our family is here to help yours, with patience, care, and no obligation.
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