I am giving this review for Richard Earle. He is no longer with Pine Forest Memorial Gardens…read more Last November our beloved father, Joseph Mitchell, passed away. We were heartbroken. Thank heavens we met Richard. He spent a lot of time with me not only discussing the many options at Pine Forest but sharing my grief. His kindness and empathy are exceptional. He really helped me and our family navigate this difficult time with patience and understanding. He was available for my numerous questions and answered them promptly, We set up arrangements for my Dad, Mom and us. We also recommended him to our recently widowed neighbor. We did have a snafu with recent management wanting to charge us $2000 dollars for a weekend cremation service which is free during the week. But Richard handled everything well, Richard designed an amazing marker for my parents. We all loved it. But sadly we couldn't tell him in person. We wish him well with his future endeavors.

They should be ashamed of themselves. Pine Forest Memorial Gardens has become a place of…read moreheartbreak, neglect, and disrespect under its new management. Families were given no notice before employees came through and stripped graves of personal belongings--flowers, toys from children's graves, tokens of love, even temporary markers--and tossed them aside like garbage. Some were literally thrown in the trash, others dumped in the woods. These were not "decorations." They were sacred symbols of love, remembrance, and grief. For parents mourning babies, for spouses grieving partners, for families holding on to memories, these items carried immense emotional weight. To have them ripped away without warning is devastating and cruel. The irony is painful: families tried to bring dignity and beauty to their loved ones' resting places because the cemetery itself has failed to maintain the grounds. My grandparents have been buried here for over a year, and their resting place is still nothing but a mud pit. Surrounding graves are caked in dirt so thick you cannot even read the names. Despite repeated complaints, nothing has been done. Families have poured their own time, effort, and money into making these sites look presentable--a place they could actually visit and find peace--only to have management come in and rip it all away under the guise of "making the area look nicer." When confronted, management's excuse has been to point at the fine print in the contract, saying no additional items are allowed at graves. Let's be clear: when families are grieving and making arrangements for a burial, they are not dissecting legal clauses. They are burying their loved ones. And for years, families have seen tokens, flowers, and mementos left at surrounding graves without issue, which created a clear expectation that such things were permitted. To suddenly, and without warning, strip everything away and discard it in the most callous way possible is not "policy enforcement"--it is negligence, disrespect, and a total lack of compassion. Policies do not excuse the absence of humanity. A caring management team could have: * Notified families ahead of time. * Offered a grace period for loved ones to retrieve their belongings. * Worked with the community to create a respectful solution. Instead, Pine Forest Memorial Gardens blindsided grieving people at their most vulnerable moment, and then hid behind "contract language" to justify it. We demand accountability. At the very least, Pine Forest Memorial Gardens should: 1. Issue a public, formal apology to the families they have hurt. 2. Establish a clear, compassionate policy that includes proper notification before removing any items from graves. 3. Commit to regular, thorough maintenance of the grounds and markers so families do not have to do it themselves. A cemetery should be a place of reverence, peace, and dignity. Right now, Pine Forest Memorial Gardens is a place of pain, neglect, and betrayal. What has happened here is shameful, and families deserve better.