Army Sgt. Kimberly Walker survived two tours of duty in Iraq -- only to be killed back home, by her boyfriend. Now her family has been asked to remove her gravestone.
The family of a woman murdered on Valentine’s Day by her boyfriend say that they are grieving a second time after being told that the SpongeBob Square Pants headstones that they had specially built are ‘inappropriate’ for the Cincinnati cemetery where their daughter is buried.
The family memorialized her with her favorite character.
Sgt. Kimberly Walker, 28, was killed in a hotel room on Valentine’s Day and her boyfriend, was charged with first-degree murder. The grief was almost too much to bear, so the Walker family decided it would be fitting to erect two SpongeBob Square Pants monuments at her graveside in the historic Spring Grove Cemetery. The second monument is for her twin sister, Kara, who is in the Navy.
After receiving approval from a cemetery employee and signing a contract in March, the family decided on the design for the SpongeBob monuments and paid 10 percent of the $26,000 for the statues upfront.
The Walkers were also required by the cemetery to purchase six plots together to provide the necessary space to erect them.
Now, eight months later, her family is mourning again because they can't keep two SpongeBob Square pants memorials at her gravesite. The cemetery changed their mind.
Kimberly loved SpongeBob
To say that Kimberly Walker loved the cartoon character would be an understatement.
"Every year, my sister had a SpongeBob birthday party," Walker's twin sister Kara said. "Everything she had was SpongeBob." Even her curtains and bathroom were decorated with the cartoon’s image.
"The funeral home actually bought a SpongeBob casket pillow for her casket," her Mom Deborah Walker said.
The family decided to do a Sponge Bob themed memorial.
In honor of their slain daughter, the family decided to spend $26,000 on two SpongeBob monuments at Walker's gravesite -- one in an Army uniform for Walker, and another in a Navy uniform to honor Kara, an IT specialist for the Navy.
Each of the monuments stands more than 6 feet tall and weighs 7,000 pounds.
Before the family even ordered the SpongeBob memorials, it received approval from a cemetery representative, Deborah Walker said.
"They came and said, 'Yeah, we can go ahead and do SpongeBob.' She gave us a statement, we signed a contract, and then they started the design," the mother said.
The stone SpongeBob’s finally arrived on October 10. But less than a day later, Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati said it was going to remove the statues.
The cemetery changed their mind and ordered them removed.
Once they were made and arrived at the grave site, the cemetery changed their mind. Spring Grove Cemetery's president stated, "The family chose a design with the guidance of a Spring Grove employee who unfortunately made an error in judgment. The monument does not fit within Spring Grove Cemetery guidelines, was not approved by senior management, and cannot remain here."
After receiving negative news coverage the cemetery agreed to communicate with the family in hopes to come to an agreement and the cemetery has said they would pay for a new monument. But that is not what the Walkers were promised.
Angels, teddy bears but no SpongeBob?
Why bring added grief and stress upon a family dealing with the unthinkable? Kimberly Walker was one of our nation's heroes and she loved SpongeBob, so why can't her burial place allow her to have something she loved at her grave site?
It's just SpongeBob, a friendly cartoon character. Are we too rigid to have something whimsical like this at a burial ground? We allow angels, teddy bears, tricycles and even Hello Kitty gravestones. Instead of sadness, the tombstones would bring a smile to the people who saw them. Maybe visitors would stop and read about Kimberly and her accomplishments, take a moment to reflect on her life. We think it should stay.
The Source
Funeral fund
The family of a woman murdered on Valentine’s Day by her boyfriend say that they are grieving a second time after being told that the SpongeBob Square Pants headstones that they had specially built are ‘inappropriate’ for the Cincinnati cemetery where their daughter is buried.
The family memorialized her with her favorite character.
Sgt. Kimberly Walker, 28, was killed in a hotel room on Valentine’s Day and her boyfriend, was charged with first-degree murder. The grief was almost too much to bear, so the Walker family decided it would be fitting to erect two SpongeBob Square Pants monuments at her graveside in the historic Spring Grove Cemetery. The second monument is for her twin sister, Kara, who is in the Navy.
After receiving approval from a cemetery employee and signing a contract in March, the family decided on the design for the SpongeBob monuments and paid 10 percent of the $26,000 for the statues upfront.
The Walkers were also required by the cemetery to purchase six plots together to provide the necessary space to erect them.
Now, eight months later, her family is mourning again because they can't keep two SpongeBob Square pants memorials at her gravesite. The cemetery changed their mind.
Kimberly loved SpongeBob
To say that Kimberly Walker loved the cartoon character would be an understatement.
"Every year, my sister had a SpongeBob birthday party," Walker's twin sister Kara said. "Everything she had was SpongeBob." Even her curtains and bathroom were decorated with the cartoon’s image.
"The funeral home actually bought a SpongeBob casket pillow for her casket," her Mom Deborah Walker said.
The family decided to do a Sponge Bob themed memorial.
In honor of their slain daughter, the family decided to spend $26,000 on two SpongeBob monuments at Walker's gravesite -- one in an Army uniform for Walker, and another in a Navy uniform to honor Kara, an IT specialist for the Navy.
Each of the monuments stands more than 6 feet tall and weighs 7,000 pounds.
Before the family even ordered the SpongeBob memorials, it received approval from a cemetery representative, Deborah Walker said.
"They came and said, 'Yeah, we can go ahead and do SpongeBob.' She gave us a statement, we signed a contract, and then they started the design," the mother said.
The stone SpongeBob’s finally arrived on October 10. But less than a day later, Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati said it was going to remove the statues.
The cemetery changed their mind and ordered them removed.
Once they were made and arrived at the grave site, the cemetery changed their mind. Spring Grove Cemetery's president stated, "The family chose a design with the guidance of a Spring Grove employee who unfortunately made an error in judgment. The monument does not fit within Spring Grove Cemetery guidelines, was not approved by senior management, and cannot remain here."
After receiving negative news coverage the cemetery agreed to communicate with the family in hopes to come to an agreement and the cemetery has said they would pay for a new monument. But that is not what the Walkers were promised.
Angels, teddy bears but no SpongeBob?
Why bring added grief and stress upon a family dealing with the unthinkable? Kimberly Walker was one of our nation's heroes and she loved SpongeBob, so why can't her burial place allow her to have something she loved at her grave site?
It's just SpongeBob, a friendly cartoon character. Are we too rigid to have something whimsical like this at a burial ground? We allow angels, teddy bears, tricycles and even Hello Kitty gravestones. Instead of sadness, the tombstones would bring a smile to the people who saw them. Maybe visitors would stop and read about Kimberly and her accomplishments, take a moment to reflect on her life. We think it should stay.
The Source
Funeral fund
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My name is jane from USA.
I am here to give testimony on how I got my husband back,
my husband left me for no reason months ago. He moved in
with another woman, I felt like killing myself,
my life became very bitter and sorrowful.
Then one day a friend of mine told me about a great spell caster
that is very good and she said that he told her all about her life
history and the problem she is facing, i didn't believe it because
I've worked with so many of them and it didn't work.
She begged me further so I decided to try this great spell caster
called Great Dr fraser . I still didn't believe but inside me
i wanted to give a try and as God will have it i used the spell solution
he gave me and the next day and I really received a call from my darling husband,
He apologized and came back to me.
I'm very happy now with my family it worked for me and i believe it will work for you,
give him a try and follow up, this is a clear truth from a testifier.
Thank you Dr Fraser once again, if you want to reach him via email:
andersonfraser@gmail.com or call him on +1 (310) 220-0075