Woman says her mom's gravesite keeps flooding at Harrison cemetery

CBS News

6 days ago

A cemetery in Harrison has been dealing with flooding issues for years, making it difficult for families to properly visit their loved ones. Now some are speaking out, saying not enough is being done to protect the gravesites of their loved ones.
The gravesite of Sola Samuels' mother at Mount Airy Cemetery has been disfigured for years now. It's surrounded by caution tape and often covered in water, a heartbreaking sight she says she's been facing for nearly a decade. Her mother Ethel Samuels died in 2014, but within a couple of years, she noticed the gravesite issues.
Samuels says now she's speaking out publicly, hoping for change.
"I am going to see this through to the bitter end," Samuels said. "I came here to take care of my mother, and my mother is up there and I'm still going to take care of her. Life or death, this is going to be made right."
Everstory Partners, the parent company of Mount Airy Cemetery, confirms they are aware of the flooding and have been for years.
"It's a fair concern, and we want our family members to feel like they're being heard and the concern is being addressed," said Michele Stone, president of People Operations and Quality at Everstory Partners. "It's a really difficult situation. At significant rain events, the area does take on water."
Stone says the cemetery installed a French drain in 2019, adjusted it last fall and recently regraded the topsoil to fix the issue. But for Samuels, those efforts have not been enough as her mother's grave remains flooded.
"It just makes you want to cry," she said. "I mean, the emotion of seeing that is horrific. It just hits you inside and it hurts."
Stone says Everstory has offered families the option to disinter and reinter their loved ones in a different section of the cemetery. However, Samuels says that option was never discussed until recently.
"Now it's becoming public that they've offered, he said, 'Well, maybe we'll look into moving the graves.' That's the first time he said that, a couple days ago. A couple days ago. After 10 years," Samuels said.
When asked if graves could be relocated within the same section, Stone said she didn't have an immediate answer but is open to that discussion.
"We are actively working to correct the concerns there at this particular section of the park and will continue to be in touch," Stone said. "Communication is key."
For Samuels, she hopes a permanent solution comes soon.
"We want to preserve that area," Samuels said. "That would be the most wonderful thing to happen, that the ground is dry, that the graves are not disturbed in any way, that we can visit our loved ones and put flowers on their graves."
Everstory Partners says a team will assess the section next week to determine if recent repairs are making a difference. They say they plan to provide updates to families as the process moves forward.