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Daughters vow to resolve grave mistake |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Tuesday, 10 August 2004 |
By Rob Amen
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
August 10, 2004
Irma Greene and Sharrill Wilson had been over the area before.
But the Lower Burrell natives who now live in Queens, N.Y., spent the Friday before Mother's Day combing Union Cemetery in Arnold for answers concerning how another woman's remains were buried on top of their mother's.
The fact it was raining failed to deter Greene and Wilson, who found what they expected -- nothing.
Almost six years have passed since Kathleen Cribbs' cremated remains were buried in the same cemetery plot as Catherine Lynch, Greene and Wilson's mother.
Greene and Wilson discovered the mistake when they saw Cribbs' name engraved on their mother's tombstone during a visit to the cemetery two years ago.
Since then, the sisters have pursued legal action against Union Cemetery Association.
But not much has changed.
Lynch and Cribbs still share a cemetery plot.
"So far," said James Kuhn III of Kuhn, Angle, and Stein, Greene, who is Wilson's attorney, "(Union Cemetery) has simply just stalled."
Greene and Wilson filed a lawsuit against Union Cemetery about a year ago, alleging, among other things, that the cemetery association desecrated their mother's grave. Greene said Union Cemetery officials attempted to settle out of court, but her family rejected what it considered a pathetic offer -- to fix the problem and pay $2,000 in restitution.
"It's really discouraging," Greene said from her office at Kensington Publishing in New York. "They wanted to give us $2,000 and make us go away. ... But I'm not going to give up."
Phone messages left for Union Cemetery Superintendent Fred Frederick and Dennis Stofko, the cemetery's attorney, went unreturned.
Lynch and Cribbs never knew each other, according to Greene and Wilson, and their family never gave Union Cemetery permission for a stranger's remains to be buried on top of Lynch.
And no one, they said, gave permission for Cribbs' name -- or anyone's name -- to be engraved on their mother's tombstone.
As if the burial mistake wasn't enough, Greene and Wilson said, Frederick made matters worse by insisting that she and her sister knew Cribbs and that the double burial was planned. It was weeks later, according to Greene, that Frederick admitted that the cemetery made a mistake.
"It would not have gone this far had they not lied to us and said we knew this person," Greene said. "If they said this was a mistake, what can we do to fix this ... I will not let them do anything until we come to a monetary settlement."
Kuhn said Greene and Wilson are suing for less than $100,000 but did not give a specific amount.
Considering Leona Helmsley is suing a cemetery in Bronx, N.Y., for $100 million for anguish and emotional distress regarding a situation with her husband's mausoleum, Greene said she believes her lawsuit is quite reasonable.
Wilson said she, Greene and Frederick gave depositions in a Westmoreland County Orphans' Court several months ago. But Greene said she doesn't expect any developments until at least next month.
"We thought it would be cut and dried because of the fact they admitted their mistakes," Wilson said. "We will see this completely through the end."
Kuhn said the Orphans' Court has jurisdiction over cases involving cemeteries. In Orphans' Court, a judge, not a jury, decides cases, Kuhn said.
"I'm not going to give up," Greene said. "It's going to take a judge to tell me he can't give us anything. Then I will feel I took this as far as I could.
"And that will be fine by us. At least then we'll have known we fought a good battle for my mom.
"But I don't think a judge is going to say that."
Rob Amen can be reached at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or (724) 224-4661.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/news/westmoreland/s_207487.html |
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