The Roselawn Cemetery debate between Athens City Council and community members is over after the last plot owner deemed in violation of city rules removed the decorations from his daughter’s grave.

Patrick Montgomery removed the white picket fence that surrounded his daughter Michele’s grave near East Forrest Street after nearly a year of fighting with the city.

A father’s fight

Montgomery removed the grave décor two weeks ago over the enforcement of cemetery rules.

The grave — decorated with white gravel, a bench, lighthouse and plaques — was Montgomery’s way of paying tribute to his 27-year-old daughter, who was killed by a drunk driver .

“Everything has a special meaning,” he said. “We took the bench and lighthouse from her apartment balcony. The fence was an ongoing joke in our family because every guy she dated, we asked if he was the picket fence guy — if he was the one she would have a house and a picket fence with.”

Council members said the grave hindered cemetery maintenance because workers had a hard time mowing around it. Though the rules have long been in effect, Montgomery said it seems they’ve only recently been enforced.

“I commented to the lady who sold the plots about the decorations because I never thought there would ever be an issue,” he said. “Even at (Michele’s) funeral, we had family members from out of town who commented on the other graves’ decorations.”

Montgomery said he knew the decorations were different, but he never heard of them being unsightly.

Community members offered mixed responses when the issue arose last year. Some supported Montgomery and fellow families. Some supported the City Council.

The debate simmered down over the winter months because mowing had come to a stand still, but with warmer temperatures and grass growing back, Montgomery’s mission of preserving his daughter’s grave continued. He said he only submitted to city rules after his wife told him to.

“It looks like I’m done. I’m going to make up a couple (flower) boxes for the headstone and place a wreath on it during the holidays,” he said, adding he will also add Michele’s lighthouse back. “The whole thing has been extremely frustrating, and the worst part is the non-responsiveness from the mayor or council.”

Throughout the year, Montgomery tried to reach a compromise with the city — such as replacing the white gravel with mulch — but he never made any progress, he said.

“There was no cutting issue anymore, it just had to come down,” he said. “They were really nice about it, but they were firm that they weren’t going to compromise.”

City rules

Councilman Harold Wales said the ordinance is there, as it has always been, to maintain the aesthetic look of the cemetery as a whole and cut down on maintenance problems.

“We couldn’t mow because of the different objects people were bringing and leaving on the graves,” he said. “We didn’t change our ordinance. We notified the families of (graves) interfering with maintenance.”

Families who want to bring special decorations for grave sites can, but the objects can’t be left there permanently, Wales said.

“The families never come back and get the stuff,” he said. “We had a problem with people bringing soft drinks, Sun Drop particularly, and leaving them on graves. They got broken and interfered with maintenance.”

Wales said the city tried to be as lenient as possible with families, especially during the winter months, but when it comes time to cut the grass, the objects must be removed.

“There are no new rules we added. These are rules we had, and we had to let people know we were going to enforce them,” he said.

Opposing view

Council President Joseph Cannon is upset because there was no initiative by the city to compromise with families, he said.

“There’s a small amount of people who feel victorious in getting everything moved, and I thought there would be a better compromise,” he said. “When the city decides we want to do something, I think we should take into account to take how long we’ve been at the point and at the courtesy for everyone else, have a long-term plan for correction.”

Cannon said he knows the rules aren’t new but he is concerned about the city’s consistency.

“If we’re going to take the route of the fencing in the way and other obstacles in the way, it makes me wonder why you see (fences) in the old part of the cemetery,” he said. “If the city says this is something we have to stick to, it doesn’t seem like we’re sticking to it.”

Cannon said he’s still unsure how the situation played out like it did with no lenience.

“If maintenance is the case, that doesn’t make an argument at all for people who brought their own lawn-care equipment out there and cut around the graves themselves,” he said, adding he went to the graveyard on a windy day and never saw anything flying from Montgomery’s grave. “It was always maintained around it. You can look at the shell where it was pulled up and see how well he built it. I’m kind of at a loss for words.”

Cannon certainly doesn’t want to start a fight among council members, but if the decision were up to him it would have been handled differently, he said.

“I’m one of five council members and I’m not the administrator at all,” he said. “The only thing I can do is give my opinion. I’m not trying to say anyone else is wrong, I’m just saying, in my world I would’ve done it differently. People who pushed and feel like the right thing is done, I want them to know I disagree with them. When it’s all said and done, it’s an insignificant thing to all of us. But the person it’s most significant to is the man who had to take it down.”

Community reactions

Some community members, both family and non-family members of the those buried in Roselawn, are upset with the ordinance enforcement. Kathy Jerigan sat on a bench as she watched her daughter Tiffany remove decorations from her husband’s grave.

Jerigan said she bought a double plot when her husband died last year because of the freedom to decorate. She said she understands the city’s maintenance issue, but her family was willing to trim the grass around the decorations.

Since Tiffany no longer gets to spend holidays with her father, decorating his grave is all she can do.

“We don’t get to buy him anything, so we bring stuff here,” she said. “We liked to bring stuff during football season, but I guess now we won’t get to.”

Athens resident Diane Gearhart said she isn’t related to any of the families being asked to clean up the décor at the graves, but she comes to the cemetery frequently and is disheartened to see the decorations gone.

“I think the decorations are beautiful if the families take care of the graves and keep it tasteful,” she said. “(Families) need closure. We are of the flesh and we need to go through the grieving process.”

Though Gearhart never met Michele Montgomery, she said she laid flowers in honor of her.

“I don’t even know these people but I made an arrangement and put it on her grave,” she said. “I think it’s sad it’s being taken away from (the family). There are some people who don’t care, but there are some people who do.”

Another family affected by the ordinance is the Mays family. Regena Mays said she only realized she was required to remove decorations from her daughter Skylar’s grave when she drove by one day and saw a black and yellow sign on the grave, stating it was in violation of a city ordinance.

“There was no communication whatsoever,” she said.

Mays said there were lights around her daughter’s grave and flowers in the vases on the sides of the headstone. There were also wrought-iron sunflowers from Skylar’s friends because sunflowers were Skylar’s favorite, Mays said.

“The thing that bothered me most is when you lose a child, there’s nothing you can do to show your love except decorate their graves,” she said. “If we set an allowance on each child for Christmas, I always spend that much on decorations for Skylar. That’s the only thing I can do now.”

Mays said she wouldn’t be as upset if the cemetery were kept well, but there have been times she has taken scissors to trim the grass around her daughter’s grave or remove the balls from sweetgum trees.

“If they maintained the cemetery the way it should be maintained and the way they said it would be maintained, I wouldn’t have a problem,” she said. “I’ve had to lay sod on her grave because (the city) never spreads any grass seed. They’re not doing anything to make it look any better.”

Mays’ family bought eight plots around her daughter’s grave and always tried to make sure they were in compliance, she said.

“It’s the last thing you can do for your family member, and as long as you’re taking care of it, that should be the main thing,” Mays said. “We wouldn’t have buried her there if we had known this. It’s hard enough to drive by your 19-year-old daughter’s grave, but to drive by and see a sign because you’re not doing something right is a dagger in your heart.”