A Tale of Two SpongeBobs

Amidst researching new deathstinations, I stumbled across a story I would like to share today. While I have never been to this deathstination, personally, I felt compelled to tell this woman's story because it is a shining example of a flaw in the Death Care Industry. 

Before I begin, let me preface this post by stating that I applaud the family for their creativity and for having the courage to fight, despite already coping with the loss of a child. We are cut from different cloths, and therefore, funerals should not be "cookie-cutter", one size fits all. Speaking from personal experiences, I believe memorialization is important, and that creative activities, centered around the deceased, can help facilitate the mourning process. The cemetery in this story not only did the family a disservice, but they also disserviced themselves in the process.  

Valentine's Day, 2013, 28 year old Kimberly Walker of  Cincinnati, Ohio was found dead in a Colorado hotel. Slain by the hand of her boyfriend, Kimberly was an Iraq War solider. A lover of SpongeBob SquarePants, Kimberly's family contracted with Spring Grove Cemetery of Ohio to have two headstones depicting the cartoon character installed; one for Kimberly and the other for her twin sister who is not yet deceased. Pre-approval was given to the family, and in October of 2013, the two 7,000 lbs monuments were installed. 

A day later, the monuments were evicted by cemetery management who stated that they were "inappropriate" and "nontraditional". 

In February of this year, a compromise was reached. The below photos depict what the headstones look like today. 

While I appreciate the Forest Lawns of the world, sanitized memorial parks will never carry the same allure as the stone-yards. Being able to walk among the headstones, reading the creative epitaphs, and marveling in the unique architecture is what draws many into cemeteries. Having these two monuments would have not only helped the family properly memorialize their daughter, but it would have also helped to draw business into Spring Grove Cemetery; a win-win situation. The management's actions were callous and I am sorry the family had to go through this.