Flooding issues persist at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon (Lorain County, Ohio) and continuing complaints about the situation have not resolved the problem.

 Per this August 18, 2023 Channel 19 WOIO Cleveland news report, Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio, owned and operated by Everstory Partners formerly called StoneMor, continues with its long time flooding problems seriously affecting gravesites.  The situation makes it difficult for those visiting family and friends at this sprawling mostly flat terrain cemetery who need to stand in the water wearing boots and looking at rows of grave markers submerged under water.

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Quoting from the story.:

"The cemetery has drawn concerns, complaints, and legal action over the years, with 19 News first reporting on the story back in 2018."

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In April, 2023, per a news release, StoneMor changed their name to "Everstory Partners."

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Better Business Bureau Complaints

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On a personal note, I corresponded with Nancy King just a few years ago.  Nancy's parents were buried at Resthaven Memory Gardens.  Sadly, Nancy felt she had no other recourse left for her since her complaints were not resolved, so she made the difficult and personally expensive decision to have her parents exhumed from their gravesites at Resthaven Memory Gardens in 2019.  Then her parents were cremated and flown to near where she lived in California and re-interred at a cemetery near her.  

On September 12, 2019, Channel 3 TV Station WKYC aired Nancy's story that fortunately is still available to view.

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Nancy King passed away on January 28, 2022.

Nancy King's Tribute Facebook Page.  

Thus, it is quite sad for me to keep hearing about unresolved problems at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon with seemingly no clear path forward to achieve resolution regardless if the owner's name is StoneMor or Everstory Partners - it is the same sad story!  The company needs to do more than only change their name, they need to change how they handle their business and step up to honor their repeated promises to resolve long standing problems like flooding at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Ohio.

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Rescuing Resthaven Cemetery on Facebook

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Resthaven Cemetery on Find a Grave

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I visited Resthaven Memory Gardens in 2019 to pay my respects at the gravesite of a childhood friend, Linda L. Kennelley Kurianowicz.  Thankfully it had not been raining in the past few days so the ground was dry.  

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Resthaven Memory Gardens - Avon, Ohio is once again in the news for its unresolved flooding issues.

Avon (Lorain County) Ohio:  

Resthaven Memory Gardens once again is in the local spotlight -  sadly for one of its most glaringly unresolved problems that has plagued this late 20th century cemetery for years, if not for a decade by now -- flooding issues at the gravesites and throughout the grounds -- lest we forget Spring is yet more than a month away.  

"Cemetery known for its issues, says it has plans to fix them" reported by Amanda VanAllen of Channel 5 news (ABC affiliate) in Cleveland - February 18, 2020 - is the latest news story about Resthaven Memory Gardens.  It is the first for the year 2020, but I doubt it will be the last.  

 

 

(The above photos taken by this writer on September 19, 2019 during a time when there was a lack of rain.)

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Resthaven Memory Gardens has 9,142 memorials posted for it on the website "Find A Grave".

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Below is a listing with links for many of the news stories that have come to our attention, both in the media and in print, about the ongoing unresolved problems at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon.:

Avon, Lorain County, Ohio:

Resthaven Memory Gardens – Avon, Lorain County, Ohio.:

Find A Grave.:

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/167888/resthaven-memory-gardens

Elyria Chronicle-Telegram newspaper.:

By:  Contact Bruce Walton at 329-7123 or bwalton@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Facebook @BWalton440 or Twitter @BruceWalton

April 4, 2019:

http://www.chroniclet.com/Local-News/2019/04/04/State-asks-owners-of-Avon-cemetery-to-repair-drainage.html

March 15, 2019:

http://www.chroniclet.com/Local-News/2019/03/15/Petition-seeks-repairs-at-Avon-39-s-Resthaven-cemetery.html

March 6, 2019:

http://www.chroniclet.com/Local-News/2019/03/06/Residents-complain-about-condition-of-Resthaven-cemetery.html

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WKYC – Channel 3 – TV station – Cleveland

April 30, 2019:

https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/flooding-problems-continue-at-avon-cemetery/95-d502e012-5fa8-4f07-855e-7b1d222838e3

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NewsNet 5 – TV station – Cleveland:

February 18, 2020:

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/oh-lorain/cemetery-known-for-its-issues-says-it-has-plans-to-fix-them

April 21, 2019:

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/oh-lorain/local-woman-says-new-law-isnt-helping-prevent-disrespectful-conditions-at-avon-cemetery?fbclid=IwAR3kjXEBsMo-KxR-7tUDfmmCq5eZDvrW90PEpU-J4hDZPXoUAG_-BT6Gpjk

February 20, 2019:

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/oh-cuyahoga/families-say-local-cemetery-conditions-are-disrespectful-after-several-graves-found-submerged-in-water

September 4, 2018:
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/local-families-said-resthavenmemory-gardens-have-left-them-in-pain

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Channel 19 TV station  – Cleveland:

March 29, 2019:

http://www.cleveland19.com/2019/03/30/resthaven-cemetery-starts-repairs-after-tumultuous-debate/

March 22, 2019 (following the face to face meeting with the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission.:

http://www.cleveland19.com/2019/03/22/embattled-avon-cemetery-promises-put-out-plan-fixing-flooded-grounds/

December 27, 2018:

http://www.cleveland19.com/2018/12/27/avon-cemetery-agrees-clean-flooded-muddy-grave-sites-after-cleveland-investigation/

August 31, 2018:

http://www.cleveland19.com/story/39003616/family-says-avon-cemetery-disrespected-loved-ones-memory-at-gravesite

Fox 8 News TV Station – Cleveland:

December 26, 2018:

https://fox8.com/2018/12/26/family-calls-conditions-at-avon-cemetery-disgraceful/

AND:

Better Business Bureau:
https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/avon/profile/cemetery/resthaven-memory-gardens-0312-22885

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"Rescuing Resthaven" - Private Facebook Group

Remembering Linda Kennelley Kurianowicz -- Graduate of Lorain High School 1966

 

1966 graduation photo

 of Linda L. Kennelley Kurianowicz

Lorain High School

Lorain, Ohio

 

I first became acquainted with Linda Kennelley while attending  Longfellow Junior High School in Lorain, Ohio from 1960 to 1962.  

Afterward, we both attended Lorain High School; graduating in 1966.  

I lived on Arizona Avenue and Linda lived on New Jersey Avenue.

We were East Siders - residing East of the Charles Berry Bascule Bridge that spanned what was then Routes 6&2. We knew it better as East Erie Avenue.

Because Lorain's downtown district is on Broadway just west of the bascule bridge, the East Side was the quiet side of town that didn't have many businesses. 

Linda and I were both shy girls that soon learned we enjoyed each other's company.

And, of course, we shared the same given name!  

There were a lot of "Lindas" in our classes down through the school years. It was a popular name for many of us who were born in the late 1940s.  My mother told me I was named after Linda Darnell who was a rising movie star at that time. 

 

During our last year at Lorain High School, Linda and I exchanged our senior pictures with each other. We wrote down our thoughts and good wishes for the future on the photo's reverse side.  

I still have Linda's wallet-size photo she gave me.  

Linda wrote:  

"To a real good friend that I hope our friendship will last.  Your friend Linda." 

After we graduated from high school, Linda Kennelley and I did move on going in different directions. 

Linda married a fellow L.H.S. classmate; Roger Kurianowicz. He passed away in 1987 and was buried at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon.   

Linda's parents were Charles C. Kennelley and Eileen Kennelley.

Sadly, in March of 2019, I read that Linda had passed away.  I was so shocked and just could not believe the grim news.

I went to the Dovin Funeral Home on Elyria Avenue in Lorain for Linda's visitation.  I saw Linda's two daughters and met and spoke to one.  I gave her my condolence card and my gift. 

When I walked up to Linda to pay my last respects to her and give her my goodbye with my prayers for her, I felt her presence around me.  The Linda I knew left behind a lot of people who loved her. They will carry their memories of her with them throughout their lifetime.  

I know I will too.

  

Linda, I know we will meet again.

Perhaps we'll take a nice long walk together on East Erie Avenue one more time.      

Linda Kennelley Kurianowicz's Find A Grave memorial

(Above photos by Linda Jean Limes Ellis)

The walkway leading up to the

 Garden of Wisdom Section

where Linda Kennelley Kurianowicz

and her husband, Roger, are buried.


Sharing an earlier photograph of Linda L. Kennelley

Nancy King's Story - Justice for her parents who were buried at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio

Nancy King, who lives in California, finally had to make what was most likely the toughest decision of her life when she took the steps to exhume her parents from Resthaven Memory Gardens located in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio. 

The link to this WKYC - Channel 3 feature report with Nancy , explaining the reasons for her decision, tells of her additional tribulations that she had to endure dealing with the owner of Resthaven Memory Gardens -- StoneMor.

StoneMor's cemeteries across the United States are listed under the BurialPlanning.com website.  Specifically, there is a link for their Ohio cemeteries which are all owned and/or operated by StoneMor.

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Please watch Nancy's story; its one that should never have happened to her or anyone in 21st Century America!  We need stronger national and state laws to protect and preserve gravesites than we currently have. 

"These Death Stocks are Barely Clinging to Life"

"These Death Stocks are Barely Clinging to Life" 

By Benen Ling

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"Specific Stocks"

"StoneMor (STON)"

"It's primarily a cemetery company, with an 80/20 split of cemeteries and funeral homes. It's the only stock with a major cemetery focus. Revenues have generally declined over last five years, as you would expect, while the company has tried to mask this with a series of acquisitions. It has only acquired an average of five cemeteries per year over the last 3 years, but it used to be much more active in rolling-up cemeteries and as such as a debt load reflecting that.

The debt load has gotten so onerous that earlier this year StoneMor breached debt covenants. Lenders have waived the breach for now, and are currently negotiating refinancing, but that may merely be delaying the inevitable. Free cash flow is weak, with most of the firm's cash flow going to interest payments. To make matter worse, the acquisitions that StoneMor spent so much on in the first place are underperforming. It hasn't made a profit in eight years and is pretty much a classic case of an over-acquisitive firm that's now overexposed to debt and drowning in interest payments. Some have taken the fact that Axar Capital (the largest equity owner) has injected a $35 million loan into the company as proof that StoneMor is capable of pulling off a turnaround. I would caution against that line of thought. Axar Capital is injecting cash into StoneMor because it is their largest equity holding, per their Form 13-F. I firmly believe that Axar is throwing good money after bad here.

Despite the serious decline in the stock, StoneMor could be going to zero. In late 2018, a Bloomberg story broke about StoneMor burying prepaid customers' graves before they died because doing so would allow the company to tap customers' pre-need trust accounts. Basically, they buried empty graves because it would allow the company to legally siphon off what its customers had paid in advance.

StoneMor is a classic short. It has weak free cash flow that's choked by debt, has had its reputation trashed by its own actions and is on the wrong side of the secular trend towards cremation in the funeral industry. Their bonds reflect this, with the 2021 bond yielding 14.3%. When looking for short sale candidates, experienced stock-pickers look for the most exposed, overleveraged candidates, and StoneMor certainly fits those characteristics."

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StoneMor

StoneMor owned Ohio Cemeteries

Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon - The latest Report from WKYC TV - Channel 3 news

Sharing this report with short video that clearly shows how severe the flooding is at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Ohio.  This is a StoneMor owned cemetery; which means it is also a private cemetery.  

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Sadly, the protest that was to take place yesterday was stopped by security set up at the cemetery by StoneMor.  
The protest signs created and brought by those who had planned to hold them up high in support of their family and friends buried at Resthaven, however, were permitted to remain if installed at the gravesites. Not long after everyone had left Resthaven, though, the signs were swiftly removed and hauled away. 

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The results from a "Google" search for StoneMor lawsuits in the past year alone sheds more light on this company's all too often lack of responsiveness to resolve complaints in a timely manner.  The story is the same or similar in nature at many of their cemeteries.  
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The Rescuing Resthaven Cemetery Facebook Group is a well organized group that acts as a soundly informed resource for sharing of information. It supports those who seek help with resolving the flooding issues, and other problems that exist at the gravesites of loved ones or friends buried at this once lovely and well kept cemetery.  It is Resthaven Memory Gardens best hope to regain its lost respect and have a brighter future because of their ongoing efforts to save it. 

Sharing the latest reports about Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio

YouTube video from WKYC-TV Channel 3 in Cleveland of the proceedings of the Town Hall meeting that was conducted on May  21, 2019 about the dire situation at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon.  

Important Links:

Rescuing Resthaven Cemetery - closed Facebook Group for those who are interested in Resthaven Memorial Gardens in Avon. 

Resthaven Memory Gardens - Facebook Page 

Resthaven Memory Gardens on "Find A Grave"

Channel 19 WOIO news story of March 21, 2019

Sharing the latest news report for Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio

Sharing a link to the latest TV news report about Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Lorain County that comes from Cleveland TV station, Channel 19 news.  This report is extremely well researched and presented by their reporter, Sara Goldenberg. 

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This update is by far the most comprehensive report that I have seen that covers a wide range of issues with several links and photographs included. 

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I encourage everyone to read the report and view the video. 

The personal stories are heartbreaking, but it is important to also take note of all of the problematic issues spotlighted; not the least of which is the lack of adequate laws in Ohio to preserve and protect cemeteries that are long overdue to be reviewed and improved.

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Resthaven Memory Gardens is an active/registered cemetery.  

There are 8,9704 memorials posted for Resthaven Memory Gardens on "Find A Grave".    

This latest update spotlights the public outcry to move more quickly to resolve the problems plaguing Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio

Sharing a link to Cleveland's Channel 19 report: "Avon Resthaven Cemetery Follow-Up" video by news reporter Hannah Catlett -- it is a must-watch video! 

The message emphatically presents the urgent need to resolve Resthaven's long-standing and most recent severe problems affecting the condition of the grave sites and those whom wish to visit them.
It highlights how a strongly supportive online petition signed by several hundred people - with added comments - and delivered in person -- to those in the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission meeting, can all help to achieve the desired goal of getting a satisfactory resolution for all involved.  

Currently, Resthaven Memory Gardens has 8,984 memorials posted for it on "Find A Grave."  

A link to:  The website for Resthaven Memory Gardens through "BurialPlanning" 

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The bottom line is that cemetery owners and operators no longer can keep seeking extensions for resolving long-standing problems.  

They have been made aware they are directly accountable for any delays.  They will have to publicly communicate their progress - or lack of it - because there is a multitude of concerned folks who demand answers and will not stop until they are found.  

"Petition seeks repairs at Avon's Resthaven cemetery"

Sharing this link to the most current update from Elyria's "Chronicle-Telegram"online report:

"Petition seeks repairs at Avon's Resthaven cemetery" by Bruce Walton

A link to the closed Facebook Group "Rescuing Resthaven Cemetery" and their Petition is included in the story. 

Resthaven Memory Gardens has 8,950 memorials posted for it on "Find A Grave"

Sharing the latest report about Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio

"Residents complain about the condition of Resthaven Cemetery" by Bruce Walton of the Elyria "Chronicle-Telegram" newspaper; which is also posted online on March 6, 2019. 

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Sadly, problems, and thus complaints, have been plaguing Resthaven Memory Gardens for a number of years.  

Resthaven Memorial Gardens is owned by StoneMor.  

Sharing a link to StoneMor's BurialPlanning website that has a listing of the cemeteries owned by the company in the State of Ohio.  

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A dedicated Facebook Group has been recently created especially for those who are plot owners or have friends or family buried at Resthaven Memory Gardens.:
"Rescuing Resthaven Cemetery"
Membership in this closed Facebook Group has grown to 341 as of this writing. 

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Resthaven Memory Gardens on "Find A Grave" currently has 8,946 memorials posted for it. 

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Financial Information for StoneMor's 3rd Quarter 2018

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"Market Beat"

Problems continue at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio

Sharing the latest report of February 21, 2019 from Channel 5 in Cleveland -- compiled by news reporter Joe Pagonakis about Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio. :

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"Families say local cemetery conditions are disrespectful after several graves found submerged in water"

In the report we see the Cemetery Complaint Form's cover letter detailing the jurisdiction of the Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission, which is important to understand because there are limits to their power and role in resolving complaints. 

This link is for the Cemetery Complaint Form, October 29, 2018 version, is the latest version. 

It is helpful to know in advance the type of information needed to properly complete the form; and thus present the strongest case for a satisfactory resolution of the problem cited for review.

Cemetery Complaint Form

 

Spotlighting Cleveland's Channel 5 Investigative Reporter Joe Pagonakis' Follow-Up News story, Revealing Additional Problems at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio

"Families are calling for more cemetery oversight after experiencing issues at local funeral home"

By:

Joe Pagonakis

 Nov 8, 2018

Sharing this follow-up to an earlier news story citing additional customer complaints about Resthaven Memory Gardens' improper and unsatisfactory customer service practices that have caused several families of departed loved ones buried there to seek legal help in order to resolve their issues; or planning re-interment of their loved one to another cemetery in order to have their deceased loved one's remains' treated properly, and find closure for themselves.  

News5 Cleveland's investigative reporter, Joe Pagonakis, has researched these complaints quite thoroughly.  His interviews of a former cemetery employee and an owner of a large local monument company provides important information that might not be brought to light otherwise.

Here is a link to his original report published online on September 4, 2018  

Joe includes a link to one of the Ohio Revised Codes pertaining to cemeteries that provides some details of the most recently passed legislation, effective October 29, 2018 - HB168.:  

4767.09 [Effective 10/29/2018] Reasonable maintenance.

 

4767.10 [Effective 10/29/2018] Cemetery grant fund.

Resthaven Memory Gardens in Avon 

on "Find A Grave"