Spongebob Not Good Enough For Ohio Cemetery

[Karloff]

Spongebob Not Good Enough For Ohio Cemetery

Iraqi war veteran Kimberly Walker no longer has the headstone her family wanted.

Three-tour Iraqi war veteran Kimberly Walker was murdered on Valentine's Day, and her boyfriend Montrell Mayo, also a soldier, has since been accused of the crime. Meanwhile her family set about the sad task of laying Sgt Walker to rest, and chose her favorite character, Spongebob Squarepants, to stand at the head of her grave at Ohio's historic Spring Grove Cemetery. All was complete, the funeral over, and Sgt Walker interred; then, the day after the funeral, the cemetery called the family and said that it - and an identical stone put up for Walker's still living twin sister - would have to come down. They have since been removed.

"We've decided that they aren't appropriate for our historic cemetery and they can't be displayed here," said cemetery President Gary Freytag. "I feel terrible that it got to this point but I'm hoping we can come out at the other end of the tunnel with a solution." The employee who helped arrange the burial and approved the headstone choice made an inexplicable error of judgement, claims Freytag. Spring Grove has offered to pay for the originals and for replacement stones.

Spring Grove's first burial took place in 1845; Revolutionary War veterans, Civil War generals and Congressional Medal of Honor recipients are buried there. The cemetery has its own historian in residence, and conducts regular tours. "Cemeteries act as memorials to the past, and they offer a unique view of our history, culture, and way of life," Spring Grove claims on its site [http://www.springgrove.org/notable-burials.aspx].

The family is not impressed. "It is frustrating that you entrust a cemetery to have your best interest at heart and accommodate you and your family at a hard time," says Walker's sister, whose stone was also removed, "and because they don't like it they're going to take it down." The family doesn't want Spring Grove's money or its new stones; the family wants the one Sgt Walker would have wanted.

Those wanting to know more about Sgt Walker should visit her tributes page [http://hosting-12821.tributes.com/show/Kimberly-Ruth-Walker-95262010].

Source: Guardian [http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/oct/22/spongebob-squarepants-gravestone-iraq-war-veteran-video]


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[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

"Cemeteries act as memorials to the past, and they offer a unique view of our history, culture, and way of life,"

Except when that view is actually unique.

Though I'll admit those eyes look like they're about to annihilate my soul.

 

[Legion]

A tricky one, but overall I think the fact of the matter is that the cemetery originally agreed to it. If they'd asked beforehand and were told no, I'd understand the cemeteries decision, but having already allowed it I do not consider it fair for them to change their mind like that.

Plus, while it may not fit the solemn atmosphere that they'd like, but tomb stones are for the loved ones of the deceased, not for random strangers passing them by. If they genuinely feel that it is the best choice, then telling them it is inappropriate is either caring more about appearances than the bereaved or basically saying "You are grieving wrong".

 

[-Dragmire-]

The Spongebob stone is creepy but I feel the caretakers should respect the wishes of the family.

 

[tangoprime]

"Cemeteries act as memorials to the past, and they offer a unique view of our history, culture, and way of life,"

Except when that view is actually unique.

Exactly, in time, this will show a unique cultural icon from this time period. My only problem with that Soldier Spongebob is that the american flag is flying the wrong way for being on that arm. If a representative of the cemetery already ok'ed it, then they have no right to retroactively deny it. If anything, I think it would something unique and interesting along the tour, and allow you to better engage kids that are getting dragged along by parents.

 

[GrayJester]

Think of it this way. You're a home owner, you have a nice little house and yard in the duburbs in a nice neighborhood. Then one day your get a new neighbor that believes cutting grass is opressive and allows his lawn and weeds to grow as nature intended, he also believes that his hows should be painted in a manner akin to the face of a clown. You would not be a very happy person would you?

Is that some.. culture-specific thing? Is there a certain law in your country that dictates how your front yard should look like? Because I myself couldn't care less about the look of someone else's private property. No offence, I'm just curious.

 

[The_Echo]

This unfortunately doesn't come as a surprise to me, Ohio being my place of residence for the past two decades. Pretty par for the course.

Frankly I'm not a big fan of the stone myself, but it's a real slap in the face to disrespect the wishes of the family like that.

Perhaps common ground could be met? A more standardized stone with Spongebob etched into it?

 

[EHKOS]

That is obnoxiously large, kinda creepy, and brings the whole tone of death down. While the last may be a good thing in some situations I can definitely see where they're coming from. Why couldn't they just engrave the image on the stone? I live across from a graveyard, and I've never seen any custom stones like this.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

Oh wow. Spring Grove actually in my town and I've been there several times. I heard about this story this morning on the local news. I wasn't expecting to see it on the site I go to for worldwide video game news but I guess everything is fair when Spongebob is involved

In terms of historical significance, it's one of the oldest cemeteries in the country if I'm not mistaken. I can't really blame them for not wanting something as visually jarring as a Spongebob headstone in their ancient cemetery

 

[lacktheknack]

Yeah. Screw the wishes of all the families of the other interred soldiers who want a respectable and solemn final resting place, let's start dotting the graveyard with cartoon characters.

Envelope-shoving doesn't always make you edgy. Often, it makes you an ass.

EDIT: My overall view here:

-Cemetery is famed, and thus has a reputation to uphold
-More than just this one family uses the cemetery
-This whole thing was a ridiculously bad idea from the start, any sane person without an axe to grind can see that
-If they seriously approved it and then took it down afterwards, then let them be sued.

 

[robertjgannon]

Forget the preservation of their cemetery. That wasn't an issue when they approved the design and took the money from the family. Forget military status--that has nothing to do with the story.

The cemetery agreed to the design before the family paid for the stones and the six plots in the cemetery. Then, magically, the business spins it so that even though the contracts were signed and the design was approved by the company, the company didn't really approve the design. Therefore, they think they can haul the stones off of the plots without the family's permission. You can't renege on a contract that requires design approval you gave because you got complaints afterwards. If this goes to court, the cemetery will be out a whole lot more than just the cost of new monuments.

If they actually cared about the preservation of the cemetery and thought this kind of design was inappropriate, they would have said so before the family paid for the plots, burial service, and custom monuments at this cemetery.

 

[AstaresPanda]

fuck no. If im sure you gotta BUY that little chunk of land to put your loved ones dead shell in. So wots the issue ? They said yes first. So whats the issue ? FACT IS they paid for it all end of.

They should not be concerned about offending another family its not their dam loved ones grave/tomb stone. And if it is to avoid offending other peaple visiting dead family then its pretty pathetic pandering to assholes who would go so low as to complain about someone else tomb stone. God forbid somthing DIFFERENT.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

While the statue is sort of tacky and possibly a bit creepy, I admit I'm kinda in the middle here. Should the cemetery at least respect the wishes of the family, or do they have the right? I honestly don't know. Though I wonder why they agreed to do it then backed out later...

[small]That's why for my tombstone, I guess I'll just have a carving of Twilight Sparkle on it rather than a life-size statue of her.[/small]

 

[RJ 17]

Ehhhhh...this is a bit of a sticky situation. On the one hand you always want to respect the wishes of the family of the departed. On the other hand, if the other families with people buried in the cemetery are offended by it, the cemetery is placed in a bit of a spot.

From the sound of things, the cemetery is specifically a cemetery for soldiers and I can't imagine many people would find SpongeBob's smiling face as being very respectful to the honored dead, no matter what the Walker's family's tastes might be.

If it's a private cemetery (as in private business), then they have the right to remove the stones and I'd say they're being more than fair by offering to pay the cost of the original stones and pay for replacements.

 

[shirkbot]

It;s not so simple. It's not that they have anything against Spongebob but seriously, it's either have one upset family or at least 4 others who expected a reverent and dignified resting place for their relative and see that it's now adjacent to SPongebob. One tacky headstone cheapens the whole place.

Think of it this way. You're a home owner, you have a nice little house and yard in the duburbs in a nice neighborhood. Then one day your get a new neighbor that believes cutting grass is opressive and allows his lawn and weeds to grow as nature intended, he also believes that his hows should be painted in a manner akin to the face of a clown. You would not be a very happy person would you?

Cemeteries are responsible for maintaining a certain look and decor for their environs, that's part of what you pay for. The Cemetary is well within their rights, just like even if you pay in advance for a reservation at a restaurant the management is still able to deny you entry if you show up dressed in a manner not fitting the dress-code.

This was an error on the part of the employee that handled the matter initially. Of course saner and rational heads would realize this is an easy compromise. Regilar headstone, with a reliefed Spongebob engraving. Not the ideal but the sentiment is maintained in a manner acceptable to both parties. The spongebob statue can be donated toa children's museum, playground or park which I think would make the deceased even happier, to know their headstone is a source of joy to children. It's a 3-Way win. Now if only The parties involved could get their heads out of their asses to see it.

May I interject? To compare this whole incident to a confrontation with the HOA or a dinner reservation is a little wonky. This is like saying that you built a house that you were intending to spend the rest of your life in, pre-approved by the HOA, only to have them demolish it and offer to build you a new one that "Fits in" better.

OT: I do not think it is ever appropriate to modify another person's tombstone for any reason.