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‘I just feel I need to give them something’ Local woman donates cemetery plot to one of 12 shooting victims

Posted at 2:49 PM, Jun 04, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-04 17:18:01-04

NORFOLK, Va. - Jane Caler said she does not have the financial stability to donate money, so instead she plans to donate a cemetery plot that has already been bought and paid for.

Jane Caler

Caler lost her sister to cancer 25 years ago. Her sister wanted to be buried in the Riverside Memorial Cemetery on Indian River Road, but in order to buy one plot you had to purchase four.

When News 3 spoke to Caler on Tuesday, she said she would have spent any amount to give her sister her dying wish, so she bought all four.

Since her sister's death, Caler has lost her son and grandson suddenly, but neither wanted to be buried. She plans to take the plot next to her sister in the cemetery but of the two remaining, she wants to donate one to a family who needs it.

"I just have it on my heart that it will be one of the 12. I know there are four more in the hospital, and if one of those four needs it that’s fine, too," said Caler.

The space is in the back, a few rows up from the treeline in the Walnut section of Riverside Memorial Cemetery. The plot was at a $1,000 value 25 years ago and is worth much more now, but Caler said it is a gift she wants to give.

Having dealt with loss that was not expected, Caler empathizes with the families and said, "Especially at a time like this, if you don’t have the money, you do not want to go in debt for everything. I think God talked to me and told me to just check. Just check - you never know who might need it."

If you know a victim's family who would like to acquire the plot, email takingaction@wtkr.com or rachael.cardin@wtkr.com.

Click here for our full coverage on the Virginia Beach mass shooting.

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