BOSTON (WHDH) - Their touching tribute to their mother was rejected. And for months she’s rested in an unmarked grave? What happened? And how did Hank get to the bottom of this headstone hold up? Hank Investigates.
Florizel Cox was loved by her family and her community.
“She was just full of life, full of love,” Prentice, her son says.
Always stylish and smiling, Florizel loved planning big celebrations at her church.
“She lit up a room,” Prentice says.
She also loved flowers and books—sometimes reading three novels a week. Sidney Sheldon’s thrillers were her favorite.
“She read them all, sometimes twice,” Prentice says.
So, when Florizel lost her valiant battle with cancer this spring her family wanted to honor her with a special headstone – reflecting the flowers and books Florizel loved so much.
Florizel’s funeral had to be limited to a small group of mourners because of COVID.
So, members of her church lined Bluehill Parkway to pay their respects as her family traveled to the cemetery in Jamaica Plain.
But months after this service Florizel’s grave is only marked by the flowers her loved ones leave.
“Now I’m dealing with another loss,” Prentice says.
That’s because the headstone the family lovingly designed was rejected by the cemetery.
Prentice got an email from a cemetery manager saying:
“I am sorry that the design that you had your hearts set on is not allowable.”
“He told us that it wasn’t esthetically pleasing. It was jarring,” Prentice says.
The cemetery has no specific rules about the style of an individual headstone, but a cemetery manager explained, “there is latitude for management to make these decisions.”
“We didn’t know that a cemetery could reject it because they personally didn’t like the monument that we design,” Prentice says.
No one at the cemetery would talk to us. But soon after we started calling, they emailed Prentice saying, “we have decided to allow the monument design that was previously submitted.”
Prentice says he’s grateful his mom will finally rest in peace with the monument he feels is perfect for her.
“She would have greatly appreciated it,” Prentice says.
The family hopes the headstone will be installed soon. To prevent even more grief when a loved one dies, it’s wise to review the cemetery’s requirements.
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