NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark — Frustration grows for family members whose loved ones are buried at a North Little Rock cemetery, for months they say the grounds have been unkempt.
Mary Priest says her husband died in March of 2021 and she buried him at Edgewood Memorial Park cemetery, where several of her family members are also buried. But she says over the last couple of months the cemetery grounds have looked a mess with overgrown grass and trash.
“I cried. I would have never thought the grass would have been so high. I mean it was so bad I couldn’t even see my husband’s marker,” said Priest.
Michelle Stoll says she is experiencing the same thing when she visits her loved ones.
“When I go to their grave site, I want to be able to find their grave marker and the last two times I was there I couldn’t. It was flushed with the ground,” said Stoll.
Priest says although she has made complaints to the cemetery’s manager, she has cleaned her husband’s burial site herself.
“We should not have to come out here ourselves and do it when we have paid for the perpetual care,” said Priest.
Priest also bought a plot next to her husband when he died but now, she’s concerned with the future of it.
“We didn’t have any children and I’m thinking who is going to take care of it afterward,” said Priest.
When asked about the concerns of the maintenance of the ground, a spokesperson from Anthem Partners, which owns the cemetery responded.
“At Anthem Partners, we take every customer concern to heart and use it as an opportunity to improve. In the case of Edgewood Memorial Park, it is unfortunate that we had our mower stolen and our grounds maintenance person leave the company,” the spokesperson said. “As I mentioned, we have been using the grounds maintenance teams from other nearby cemeteries in the short term to remedy things.”