WREG.com

Southeast Shelby County cemetery under fire for bad conditions

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman with loved ones buried at a southeast Shelby County cemetery says the conditions are not up to standards.

Donna Gann-Britt visits Forrest Hill Memorial Park South regularly. Her mother is buried there.

“She loved fall colors and sunflowers,” Gann-Britt said.

The spot holds the memory of multiple family members.

“This is where you come to talk to your parents. I’m spiritual and I come out here sometimes, and just talk and, you know?” she said. Which is why she alerted us after visiting over Veterans Day weekend.

She took pictures showing multiple broken vases and an uncovered vault. She says she called the memorial park office hoping to get someone to fix things up.

“They could’ve fixed it and yesterday was a holiday and people were here. You would think someone would’ve come here and wanted it to be presentable when they come to meet their loves ones again.”

Besides picking up the phone, she did what she could to help.

“Everything was in disarray. A friend of mine came with me and helped me put back on the graves. But we couldn’t get to them all, you know?” she said.

When she visited the cemetery on Monday, Gann-Britt says things were a little better, heavy equipment was out and the vault was covered.

A spokesperson with the cemetery responded with the following statement:

Forest Hill Memorial Park’s mission is to help families memorialize every life with dignity, including providing and maintaining a tranquil and beautiful place for memorialization. In this instance, we have fallen short of our standards. The matter is being addressed, and we want to reassure our families and the local community that we are committed to serving them and their loved ones.

We’ll keep you updated on the conditions.