GREENSBORO, N.C. — It’s a visit that brings both comfort and sorrow. Still, Jacqueline Velasquez visits the grave of the son she never met at least twice a week.
“It was very traumatic; I was very numb; I didn’t get to feel everything until maybe around the time he was (to be born),” Velasquez said.
Her son, whom she named Jesse, never had the opportunity to meet his mom, but that doesn’t change how she feels about him. Velasquez wanted her son buried so he could have a final resting place.
“We wanted to have somewhere he could rest; his dad didn’t want to cremate him,” Velasquez said.
Once buried, the couple purchased a nice gravestone on the ground above his gravesite. The marble gravestone had his name, the date he passed, and the inscription, ‘Our little angel, our arms will forever ache to hold you.’
Unfortunately, a short time after the marker was put down, the cemetery called and informed Velasquez that it didn’t meet cemetery guidelines and had to be removed.
“I was very upset, very upset,” Velasquez said.
The family tells WFMY News 2 they were never told they couldn’t buy a marker on their own and have it installed. Valasquez and her husband said the cemetery removed the marker a short time later.
“When the whole ordeal happened with the cemetery, it just felt like I was reliving everything again,” Velasquez said. “I asked a friend what I could do and she referred me to you.”
We contacted the cemetery and a person in the corporate office. We were told someone would investigate the matter and get back to us. A representative emailed us a few days later, explaining what happened and how the marker was placed with the cemetery’s knowledge or participation.
We were told the marker does not meet cemetery standards for bronze or granite. However, the cemetery agreed to provide a temporary marker until a permanent one could be purchased. The new temporary marker is now up, and Velasquez was given her original marker back.
“Very thankful, very thankful,” Velasquez said.
The permanent marker will cost much more than the one they originally installed, so the family is saving up to buy it. They are glad their son has a temporary marker up and can keep the old one.