Jim Davis stands by the grave of his wife in the yard of their house in Stevenson, Ala., July 16, 2012. REUTERS/Tom Bassing
Posted on 08/19/2012 12:06:39 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
STEVENSON, Ala. (AP) -- James Davis is fighting to keep the remains of his late wife right where he dug her grave: In the front yard of his home, just a few feet from the porch.
Davis said he was only abiding by Patsy Ruth Davis' wishes when he buried her outside their log home in 2009, yet the city sued to move the body elsewhere.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
The problem I see...is that the property will eventually slip into someone else’s hands. This becomes an issue eventually for someone to deal with. I grew up in a rural area where there were two graves laid out on a property around 1900, with a big stone put up for the man and his wife. The field had gone through five owners, and by the 1980s...the eventual owner simply dragged off the tombstones and plowed over the field. There was something not right about this, but it was a done deal before anyone realized what he’d done. Either you put folks in a properly recognized graveyard, or you sprinkle their ashes in some river...but that’s about the only acceptable ways of handle this.
Does that headline evoke an ‘interesting’ mental picture for anyone else - or am I just having one of those ‘strange mental condition’ Sundays??
There are laws for this sort of thing. I know a rancher who buried his parents on his land but had to have a road built for access just as if it were a public cemetery. The land will be in the family for generations but still...
While a nice story the devil is in the family details - after he’s dead and planted beside his wife.
All it takes is one angry family member and the property could be forced into a sale - and then the family has to move both or let the new owner deal with it.
Time is the only solution to this problem and the city will be around much longer than the old man,
He didn’t plant a tree over her?
Went back and re-read it. i see what you mean.
I don’t think you should be able to bury anyone without their consent, front yard or not.
Hope no one digs up my 2 dogs...I will haunt them if they do
Are necrophilia jokes out of play?
I got yelled at the other day for not treating a thread with the proper decorum...
There are probably 8 billion dogs buried in America.
>>Hope no one digs up my 2 dogs...I will haunt them if they do<<
They are waiting for you GGranny — God made them better than most humans for a reason.
We have to wait and eventually leave our others until the big Bye and Bye. For them, it is tail-wag away :)
Here in Pa, there are many old homestead family farms which have their own graveyards, with wrought-iron fencing and access roads, and which have been in the family for many generations. Local and state laws protect those properties’ sanctity, in perpetuity.
:O) your probably right....but just don’t dig up my 2.LOL
“All it takes is one angry family member and the property could be forced into a sale - and then the family has to move both or let the new owner deal with it.”
You just write in the offer to buy a condition to move the graves at the cost of the seller. If they don’t do it, then you don’t buy the property. Simple.
Ala. man fights to keep wife buried in front yard
Exhausted man says “She keeps on digging herself out!”
I also have a few favorite goats I’d like to have with me also.....
I hope he wins. It isn’t any of the government’s business, and a legal check on zoning laws is certainly in order.
Belly laugh out loud....good one
i don’t blame the guy. hell, if it wasn’t for politics, we would bury our loved ones ourselves, and it wouldn’t cost us 8,000 for a funeral.
‘course these laws were made in conjunction with payoffs to politicians. early settlers would bury the people where they died.
actually ecologically sound.
now we have to embalm, place in a metal casket, and even in a vault.
bad enough that a love one dies, then the government wants you to pay 6,000-8,000 just to bury. just adds to the grief.
blessings, bobo
>>I also have a few favorite goats I’d like to have with me also.....<<
I have not actually VISITED the rainbow Bridge (thank God and the angels He sent to keep me here) but I am doggone sure in His omnipotence He made room for some goats.
They’ll be there next to my kitties.
:)
>>There are probably 8 billion dogs buried in America.<<
Dog billions? (like dog years?)
A lot of bodies are buried in General Lee’s front yard.
A lot of bodies are buried in General Lee’s front yard.
LOL
Gonna have to lay a slab of concrete over her to keep her in place.
http://www.lastrights.info/DIY.html
Out of morbid curiosity, I did some internet research (above link).
What is meant by the term “traditional burial”?
A traditional burial is one performed by family members and friends. Current burial practices involving the funeral home business are relatively new. The traditional burial goes back thousands of years to the present day. Because a traditional burial does not generate any profit, however, there is no massive marketing strategy to keep it in the public eye.
How-to:
1. Contact proper authorities
2. Death Certificate must be completed
3. Death Certificate must be registered
4. Transport the body to your home (if necessary)
Resist any pressure to release the body only to a funeral home if those are not your wishes. If an offer is made to transport the body for you, the point-to-point cost of that transportation – in writing – should be obtained before accepting. A family member’s personal van, large SUV, or pickup truck are all perfectly normal means for transport at a savings which can be thousands of dollars.
5. Make arrangements for cremation or burial
The body must be “buried, embalmed, or refrigerated” within 24 hours of death. Refrigeration is a way of keeping the body below 40 degrees F. Most funeral homes have coolers. Refrigeration is also done with dry ice, and often with gel packs and regular ice (in bags to keep the water from making a mess as it melts), or simply by turning the AC (home or auto) to the coldest setting
According to a local crematory, the only State restriction on scattering cremains is that if you are going to bury or scatter ashes on private property, you must have the permission of the property owner. With regards to scattering cremains on public lands, lakes, or streams, there are no restrictions in that regard, but we were advised to do it discreetly and privately.
Funeral Facts
•Caring for a deceased loved one oneself is legal in Pennsylvania, as it is in most states.
•Embalming is not essential. Dry ice works well for preservation during a three-day home ceremony.
•The modern practice of embalming began during the Civil War, for bodies shipped long distances. By 1920 almost all bodies in the U.S. were embalmed. The practice is still rare in other countries.
•In Pennsylvania, a family member can (1) act in lieu of a funeral director to orchestrate all arrangements and carry out all decisions; (2) fill out and file end-of-life documentation; (3) transport their deceased loved one to a home, place of ceremony, crematory or cemetery.
•Casket plans for building a homemade wooden casket: $15.95. A cardboard cremation casket may be purchased for $30-$50.
Not really a problem.
Just declare yourself an indian, and you can bury anyone anywhere you please. Someone else always deals with it and, who knows? You could even prevent or delay the construction of a dam or a skyscraper one day.
As a society, we are so screwed up.
The insane are not running the asylum the last 70 years. We are all the asylum now. The crazies have already been running it for at least three generations.
They just let the normals hang out for the revenue.
The first few were buried in Mrs. Lee’s rose garden.
Cute.
But w a a a a a y too subtle.
What’s the problem? My wife is buried in my back yard. Oh, wait a minute, no she’s not. Forget I even said that. She’s actually on an extended trip. Yeah, that’s the ticket. She’ll be back any day now. Really.
After living in Stevenson ('82-95), I am having a whole lot of trouble feeling anything but amused by this sentence. Stevenson isn't that big and people there do unusual things. A booming metropolis it is NOT.
Yeah, right . . . until a future property owner goes to plant a tree, and discovers human bones. And you pay for the cops to investigate it.
My sincere condolences, TF; I just buried my Mom in May.
Poor man. It’s his property, and as long as she’s buried at the proper depth, I see nothing wrong with this.
Or the sellers just let it go on a pie crust promise.
Dead people cannot own property. A cemetery association can.
The problem, as I see it, is that the organization that has jurisdiction over the burial approved his plan, and the other folks ignored them. Read the article.
OS
Of the 4 dogs I had as a kid growing up I know 1 is buried in a field on land still owned by some of my family and the other is buried just outside her yard in a field close to the house. Both died 35 and 25 years ago, respectively.
Finding human bones, inside a metal coffin, placed inside a concrete vault. That's some digging to plant a tree. I guess somebody stupid enough to dig through all that would likely call the police to investigate the bones.
That's a Captain Obvious FAIL!
Messed that up. Of four dogs, I know of where 2 are buried and the “her” is my mother. Brain blip there for a minute!
“Yeah, right . . . until a future property owner goes to plant a tree, and discovers human bones. And you pay for the cops to investigate it.”
The future property owner’s problem, not that of the present owner, and not that of the government. You don’t want a grave on the land, don’t buy it. And the cops are going to get paid the same if they are investigating anything or not.
Jesus said his Father had many mansions, hope he has a few farms, I don’t want a mansion, too much work... gg
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