Evergreen Cemetery Association - Contact Us

Evergreen Cemetery Association Office


Website Issues

For website functionality issues (page formatting, broken links, etc.), please email the webmaster - John Van Essen. Don't forget to use an appropriate subject.

Online Directory of the Dead Issues

The Directory of the Dead is intended to be a faithful reproduction of the cemetery records, including the original spelling in older records. To submit corrections or comments about the online Directory of the Dead, please email the webmaster - John Van Essen. Be sure to use an appropriate subject.

All Other Issues

For other issues about Evergreen Cemetery, Memorial Gardens Cemetery or the Evergreen Cemetery Association, such as

  • Clarification of or corrections to basic burial data as found in the Directory of the Dead on this website. Be sure to supply the Block number and Lot number given in the Directory and specify which is which (double-check the column names).
  • Requesting burial information supplemental to what is in the Directory of the Dead on this website. There is a $1 per page fee, $5 minimum. Be sure to supply the Block number and Lot number given in the Directory and specify which is which (double-check the columns).
  • Purchasing lots.
  • Making a Charitable Donation - we are a 501(c)(13) tax-exempt entity.
  • Donating unused plots as a Charitable Donation back to the Association for resale (ownership must be established and verified).

You can contact the Association via mail, phone, or email:

Executive Director Dede Tollefson
Evergreen Cemetery Association
1105 3rd Ave NE
Brainerd, MN 56401     [ Google Map ]
(218) 829-5898 [See home page for office hours]

(If you contact us via email at <>,
please include your phone number and mailing address,
and provide as much detail about your request as you can.)

Evergreen Cemetery Association Board of Trustees

Don Crust holding Appreciation Plaque
Board of Trustees member Don Crust,
holding a plaque given to him upon
the occasion of his retirement in 2015,
in appreciation for his 11 years
of dedicated service, devotion, and
commitment to the Cemetery Association.
Photo by Joey Halvorson

Each member serves a three-year term, with three members up for election each year at the annual meeting in July.

The current board members [and the year in which their terms end at the annual meeting] are:

Denise Blackwell-Kraft [2026]
Duane Blanck [2025] — President
Gary Bluth [2025] — Treasurer
John Boeder [2024] — Vice-President
Fred Casey [2026]
Tom Fitzpatrick [2024]
Susan Koering [2025]
Terry Thorkelson [2026]
John Van Essen [2024] — Secretary

Finance Committee — Bluth (chair), Boeder
Grounds Committee — Blackwell-Kraft, Koering, Thorkelson(chair), Van Essen
Policy & Procedures Committee — Boeder, Casey (chair), Fitzpatrick

You can contact the Board of Trustees or any of its Members through the Association postal address, phone, or email, as given above.

Evergreen Cemetery Association Trustees & Executive Director
Board of Trustees and Executive Director at the 2015 Annual Meeting. Back:
Conrad Bye, Gary Bluth, John Van Essen, Fred Casey, Duane Blanck, Bruce McComas.
Front: Don Crust, John Boeder, Karen Lentz (not shown: Denise Blackwell-Kraft).
Photo by Joey Halvorson