At almost any cemetery you visit, it’s not uncommon to see special mementoes or heartfelt displays placed on gravestones to honour the lives of loved ones gone. But sometimes, those items left behind are stolen, a “frequent” occurrence at a Kingston cemetery.
Joann Revell lost her husband a year ago, and her sister last month. Since then, she says she’s taken the time to decorate their resting places on multiple occasions because the items left for loved ones keep disappearing.
“Sheppard hooks like this, we’ve had stolen from the grave. The flower toppers, stolen from the grave,” Revell said.
The grieving wife and sister says she’s spent about $500 on lights and ornaments between the two gravesites.
“I love my husband. I miss him and same with my sister,” Revell said. “I just want where they’re buried to look nice.”
Administration at the Cataraqui Cemetery said these kinds of things happen frequently, adding that they receive reports from loved ones a few times a week.
The cemetery says the reality is that there’s no way for staff to stop decorations from being stolen from the 48,000 gravesites on their 91-acre property.
“Families come and go, during hours, after hours and such. So it’s not practical to lock down the cemetery. We just have to trust that everyone is on the honour system,” Cataraqui Cemetery director of operations, Craig Boals, said.
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