AVON, Ohio — A cemetery in Avon is hearing a barrage of complaints from relatives of the deceased who are interred in graves covered by water. Resthaven Memory Gardens acknowledges the issue, but a fix likely isn’t coming soon.
Daryl Radeff says he first voiced his concerns two years ago. At the time, there was a temporary fix but it proved to only be temporary. For what will now be a third year, his mother Margret’s plot is sitting beneath inches of water.
“I try to get out here every Sunday. Come out and visit,” said Radeff. “But here you are, trying to come out to the site and put something in it, and you’ve got water all around it.”
And he’s not alone. Dozens of headstones lie underwater as the rain continued to fall Tuesday. Radeff says it’s no better on a sunny day, because the water simply doesn’t go away.
“You can walk down. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure ‘hey these graves are underwater.’ These are bad. Look at ours. Look at the one over here that they filled,” he said pointing to a plot right next to his mother’s.
Across the cemetery it’s no better. One man used a shovel to try to clear muddy water to confirm his relative’s headstone was still intact.
Resthaven is owned and operated by Stonemor Properties. We reached out to them with Radeff’s complaints and they sent the following response via email:
"Resthaven Memory Gardens' mission is to help families memorialize every life with dignity, including providing and maintaining a tranquil and beautiful place for memorialization. In consultation with engineering professionals, we are working on the details of an action plan to remedy flooding and related issues. When completed, we will make available an outline of the plan at the cemetery office. In the meantime, we want to reassure our families and the local community that we are committed to serving them and their loved ones."
Radeff believes a drainage system of some sort needs to be added, but he can’t be sure until the assessment is complete.
A Facebook group called Rescuing Resthaven Cemetery has nearly 1,000 members. The forum is devoted to family members and community who want to voice concerns about the flood problems. They’ve even setup a town hall meeting set to take place on May 21st.
For Radeff and others, the persistent flooding and lack of a fix feels like disrespect to those who have gone before us.
Radeff said of the situation, “I just think it’s that respect issue. You always wonder what’s your mom thinking? Can she see this?”
Whether or not she can, it’s clearly visible to loved ones who want to visit. And they’ve had enough.
The message Radeff had to Stonemor: “Fix it. It’s been so long, fix it!”