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Family in limbo with cemetery sale
Jonee' Lewis reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - A grieving family says their plans to complete their grandmother's final wish are in limbo.
"My grandmother's wishes were to be buried between her husband and her mother. So, the plot is clearly outlined," Bounder Broner said.
Broner says his grandmother passed away last Thursday, and they soon learned there was an issue in honoring her request to be buried with her family at Memorial Park Cemetery.
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"When we were working with the funeral home to get to bury her remains, they were saying that the property is now closed to burials. And then they further clarified that it's closed to new burials," Broner said.
Aerial view of Memorial Park Cemetery.
The family says that doesn’t apply in this case, because the plot was previously purchased at Memorial Park Cemetery.
The historic Black cemetery was established in 1919, and the city has maintained it since the owner died in 2019.
FOX 13 previously reported the city planned to take ownership of the historic burial ground during an auction in January. However, its $9,000 bid was beaten out by an $18,000 bid by the company 2715 West Sligh LLC. The new owner says he does not operate a cemetery business.
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"It's anguish because all we want to do is bury our grandmother," Katrina Broner said. "It's not a thing of, you know, we're asking anything exceeding, you know, what is normal for a burial. We just want to do it with dignity and grace and give her what she deserves."
A heart-shaped balloon at Memorial Park Cemetery.
In a statement, a city spokesperson said:
"The investor who bought Memorial Park Cemetery needs to give this historic property the respect it deserves - and the families who purchased plots for loved ones the respect they deserve too."
The city is currently in negotiations with the owner to purchase the property.
FOX 13 reached out to the owner about the Broner family’s plot and didn’t hear back.