Pueblo Cemetery apologizes for early ‘cleaning’ and removing items on graves after complaints
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Roselawn Funeral Home and Cemetery in Pueblo County is apologizing after reportedly removing items left at some graves while cleaning.
Andrea Lovato said she realized items left at her grandparents' graves were missing. She later found those items meant to honor her loved ones in garbage bags.
"It was disgusting and disrespectful," Lovato said. "It broke my heart to see people's, you know, things just laying around like that."
Lovato said she did pull her family's belongings out of the trash.
After receiving complaints from Lovato and others, Roselawn Funeral Home and Cemetery released a statement on Facebook apologizing for the aggressive spring clean-up."
"We're here to be respectful to people. We want to take the time and do the right thing for the families that are here," said the Executive Director of the Roselawn Funeral Home and Cemetery Rudolph Krasovec.
View the full statement below:
According to the Roselawn Cemetery Association Rules and Regulations, decorations and flowers are only permitted in approved vases or containers installed by the cemetery. Krasovec admitted that the rules have been relaxed over the years.
However, Krasovec said they have received complaints that some people's graves are too cluttered.
Lovato told KRDO her family didn't receive any notifications of complaints made against their grandparents' grave sites.
The rules also say all decorations will be removed on Feb.1, May 1, July 1, and Sept. 1 of each year. This clean-up was done in April.
KRDO asked management why they started this clean-up early and they said they have a lot of graves and some of the cleanings didn't get finished from previous clean-ups.
"Those regulations as they were written, make it a little difficult sometimes to follow completely," said Krasovec.
Krasovec said they displayed the clean-up was going to happen for over a month. He said they put the notice out on the big sign out front.
However, some people believe the cemetery should have tried harder to notify family members since April is not a designated clean-up month.
"There should be some kind of contact information for a family member. They could have sent a letter or something," said Lovato
Krasovec said those rules were written a long time ago. Now, they're working with their board to look over the rules and regulations to accommodate everyone.
