Martha Brooks cried during her Mother's Day visit to the cemetery. Thieves had stolen the bronze name plates from the mausoleum site of her mother and father and about 50 other people.
"It was just a blank space," said Brooks, 59, of College Park, following her visits Saturday and Sunday to Monte Vista Biblical Gardens in northwest Atlanta. "I got tearful. I was hurt. I was disappointed."
Brooks said she has visited her mother's grave every Mother's Day for 35 years. The name plate marks the resting place of her mother, Annie Mae Parker, and her father, Mack Parker, as well as the dates of their births and deaths.
So devastating was the loss of her mother that Brooks used to visit her mother's grave almost every day. But over the years, she said, "I've grown stronger."
She worries that she will have to pay for the missing name plate. Brooks is considering moving her parents' remains to a safer location. The thieves also removed numerous bronze flower vases from the cemetery.
"I would like a place that is more secure," she said.
Atlanta Police Sgt. Curtis Davenport said the cemetery thefts actually occurred two to three months ago.
Cemetery president Jack Frost II said he has placed a 24-hour security guard service at the cemetery following the thefts. He said he is considering having the names of the deceased carved into stones where there were thefts, and sharing the costs with the families. He estimates that the costs of carving the names could be a few hundred dollars per person.
The act of stealing from a sacred place appalled Brooks.
"That's a person's life," she said. "You're just taking away a person's privacy in death."
"I think it should be a crime for the people who steal these, and the people who buy the metal," she said.
Sharing the story with friends and family has made her relive the loss of her mother, she said.
"It's like going through a funeral service all over again," she said.
About the Author
