Carol Ann Bennett was deeply upset upon discovering that her son’s headstone was missing from Mount Patricia Cemetery in Corner Brook. She frequents the cemetery weekly, finding solace in the peaceful surroundings. The distressing news came via a phone call from a funeral home operator, informing her that the headstone had been removed for being too tall according to the cemetery’s regulations.
The Mount Patricia Cemetery Association permits flat stone monuments in the Catholic section to extend around nine centimeters above ground level, while other sections allow monuments up to 91 centimeters in height. Heritage Memorials, the manufacturer responsible for the adjustments, stated that the Catholic section at Mount Patricia is the only one in Atlantic Canada with height restrictions on such stones.
Judy Brake, another affected individual, learned about her missing family headstone after seeing Bennett’s social media post. Both women raised concerns about the lack of communication from the cemetery and questioned the responsibility of the diocese in such matters.
The association’s president, Carl Bennett, admitted that there was a miscommunication regarding the removal of the headstones. He clarified that the company was supposed to inform both the cemetery and the affected families before undertaking any maintenance work. Bennett expressed regret over the situation but emphasized the need to uphold the cemetery’s monument policies fairly.
Heritage Memorials apologized for the oversight, attributing it to miscommunication and a lack of awareness of the regulations in the past. The company assured that new procedures had been implemented to prevent such incidents in the future. Six headstones, including Bennett’s and Brake’s, are set to be reinstalled this week to rectify the situation.