Edinburg Family Upset after Father’s Headstone Moved
EDINBURG – An Edinburg family is upset after they claimed a cemetery moved their father’s headstone without notifying them.
Marie Ramirez said the tombstone was temporarily moved at Hillcrest Memorial Park while the cemetery prepared for a new burial service.
Ramirez said she makes it a point to visit her father’s gravesite almost weekly.
“He’s our dad. I got three brothers and it’s me and my sister, and he was like our mom and dad. He’s everything to us,” she said.
Ramirez said when she stopped for a visit Wednesday night, her father’s headstone was not where it was supposed to be.
“I mean it was heartbreaking when I see it like that,” she said.
Pictures showed how Ramirez found the headstone, held stable with a piece of 2 x 4, 10 feet away from where it normally sits.
“He was abandoned over there. That’s what’s really upsetting. He’s got family. We’re right here,” she said.
CHANNEL 5 NEWS reached out to Hillcrest. They said it’s a normal procedure.
In a statement sent to us, manager Sandy Propst said to prepare for a new burial Hillcrest, “must often move other grave markers for monuments to be able to access the grave to be opened, especially if the grave to be opened is in the middle of the area.”
The statement went on to say, “after the service is concluded, the same day or the following day, depending on the service schedule, the stones are moved back their rightful places.”
“I was here at 5:30. There was still time. There was nobody here. I drove around. I mean it was still day time. They could still fix it. If it would have been at night, later or something I could understand, but it was early enough for them to put it back,” Ramirez said.
She wants to make sure her family knows about any changes to their father’s headstone.
“If ever again it happens, let us know,” she said.
They said they just want more communication.
Hillcrest updated their website and Facebook page with an explanation of why they have to move markers to make room for equipment.
We reached out to the city of Edinburg and found there isn’t a committee overseeing cemeteries in city limits. Same goes for the county.
The state of Texas actually doesn’t have a board devoted to monitoring cemeteries either.
Link: Health and Safety Code
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