Bereaved have choice words for cemetery thieves

WINTERPORT – Theft of flowers and eternal lights from plots in Oak Hill Cemetery has angered the sexton and left the widow of one man whose grave was robbed cursing the thieves to eternal fires.

“Some people are pretty low,” said sexton and Selectman Sam Butler. “This should not be happening. It makes me angry that they are getting away with this.”

For the past few weeks solar-powered eternal lights and a number of potted plants and flowers have been stolen from graves throughout the town-owned cemetery.

Butler said the extended family of Elizabeth Albert, in particular, was victimized repeatedly as items she and other family members left to honor her late husband, Ernest, and many of their relatives were among those taken.

“These families have had quite a few pass away in the last few years, and it’s a shame what is happening to them,” Butler said.

Albert was more blunt.

“They are stealing from the dead,” she said last week. “I just think it’s outrageous, and it hurts very much. I’m still in a depression from losing him unexpectedly, and it’s very upsetting to have this happen.”

The eternal lights are about 8 inches tall and cast a low glow to illuminate a grave overnight. They are recharged by the sun during the day.

Albert said that 12 of the solar-powered lights were stolen from family graves “all at once” and that potted plants and a small wagon filled with flowers also were taken. She said her family placed the items on the graves to honor their loved ones and were upset that vandals would desecrate the site.

Albert said she was so angry that she placed a cardboard sign in the cemetery reading, “Whoever is robbing from the dead, I hope you burn in hell.”

When she returned the next day, the sign had been ripped to pieces and thrown on the ground.

“This is just so low,” she said.

Butler said the problem of items being stolen from graves has gone on a long time. He said so many people visit the cemetery during the day that it is difficult to keep an eye on their activities. He said the town cannot afford to hire security personnel or install cameras and must rely on the cemetery workers to report suspicious activity.

Butler said the cemetery superintendent and his assistant work part time and spend most of their days mowing and caring for graves.

The cemetery is large, and workers can be engaged in activity at one end while a theft could be taking place at another. He said the cemetery gate is locked at 8 every night. There are no patrols of the cemetery after dark.

“Every year something is stolen down there, and it’s hard to say who is doing it,” Butler said. “It’s hard to monitor. … I try to swing up in there as much as I can. If I see something out of the ordinary, I stop. But I never have.”

Albert said the lights cost about $12, and “you can’t just keep replacing them all the time.” She said she visits her husband’s grave almost every day and finds it hard to come to grips with the fact that the items she placed there in memory of her loved one were stolen.

“I would like to get these people to think about what they are doing; they are stooping so low,” Albert said. “I want them to know they are being watched and to leave things alone.”