SUFFOLK, Va. — Families with loved ones buried at Meadowbrook Memorial & Cremation Gardens cemetery in Suffolk are frustrated as personal items left on the graves were thrown out.
Lora Lewis has multiple family members buried there. She couldn’t believe what she saw and was caught off guard when she went to visit her family members’ graves.
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“I was disgusted. It’s hurtful to see somebody taken all the stuff off of somebody’s grave," Lewis said.
But it wasn’t just her family members' graves that had stuff missing.
Lewis posted a video on Facebook Thursday night showing numerous graves without their belongings.
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She said she went to the cemetery office Friday morning to seek answers and was told a cleanup was underway.
The problem is, she said, the cleanup usually doesn’t happen until February, and she claims families weren’t notified that the cleanup would be happening earlier or why.
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News 3 spoke with a representative from the cemetery’s corporate office, who said they would look into the issue. News 3 also e-mailed corporate.
The representative said no one was available for an interview Friday, but sent a statement.
Families were notified, via signage at the location and by staff, that clean up would begin as early as Jan. 15 – Jan. 31, and they could begin placing flowers again on Feb. 1. We do realize that it’s almost impossible to reach all clients that have loved ones buried here, so it’s entirely possible that some families were unaware – and we deeply apologize for upsetting them. Our intention is always to maintain the park so it is a beautiful, serene place for our families to pay their respects. Next year, we will be more aggressive about notifying families in advance.
Lewis said she found out Friday morning a notice about the cleanup had been placed on the office door.
She noted that people wouldn’t think to check there because everyone is used to seeing a sign at the entrance gate indicating when the cleanup will happen.
“That was not a bright place to put a message like that," said Lewis.
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She said she also had holiday decorations removed but as of Friday had put new flowers on her family members’ graves.
“They put my sister and my dad’s names on a list of graves that wouldn’t be touched. I don’t know how much weight that’ll hold," Lewis said.
