Disgraceful, unkept and noisy. My grandfathers burial was on 12/7/2020 and our family was very unhappy with what we saw and heard. We have two other family members buried in this cemetery and have never experienced what we did on this day.
First, under his casket there was no green carpet, so the wood boards as well as the metal holding the casket was exposed for all to see. Not something you want to stare at while saying goodbye to a loved one. When our family called Locustwood with our concerns, Lisa in the office stated there was no carpet because of Covid. How could this be? Covid has caused some pretty crazy things to have to be changed, but a carpet? Another family membered called a day later and spoke to someone in the office who then advised that there is NO Covid rule regarding the carpet and wasn't sure why there wasn't one at his gravesite during the burial. How does one person say that this missing carpet was because of Covid and another person working in the same facility state that this is untrue and isn't sure why is wasn't there?
My Grandfathers headstone had been moved haphazardly, thrown to the side and was completely filled with dirt. He shares this headstone with my grandmother who passed away in 2006. Completely unacceptable. When our family contacted Locustwood previously in the week to state our concerns with his burial, they stated that the footstones and headstones are supposed to be taken away in a truck until after the service when they are brought back to be placed in correctly. Why was his not removed and brought back? Why was it left at the gravesite, dirty and randomly placed?
The ground around the burial area was unkept and gross. Because my grandmother and uncle are also buried at that site my grandfather would always weed, water and take great care of the grass and area around our family. He took pride in knowing he kept that area clean, beautiful and nice for his wife and son. I can NOT say the same was done for him by Locustwood.
During the burial there were big machines and trucks making all sorts of noise about 200 yards away in another part of the cemetery. It was hard to hear the priest because of all the noise and beeping. It was pitiful and downright disrespectful. Burials last no more than a half hour to forty-five minutes and are scheduled. Why would Locustwood allow this "construction" to take place during that time? It is the last time our family was able to say goodbye to the true Patriarch of our family and it was rudely interrupted by noise.
My grandfather is a veteran. He was a Bombardier in World War II and proudly served his country. He completed some 35 missions successfully and was able to return home to his family. We wanted to honor him the way he should have been honored but we feel like Locustwood took that away from us. My last memory of saying goodbye to my Grandfather is of a messy ground, dirty headstone just placed about, metal and boards as well as construction vehicles moving about. I am calling Locustwood to express my dissatisfaction with the burial and their involvement. Hopefully something can be resolved and our family can have peace. read more