Man battles Pennsylvania cemetery over shed built on burial plots
Eddie Hollinger says his dispute with Oakmont Verona Cemetery began after his mother died in 2022. Hollinger said that's when he learned that when his mother purchased the plot for her and his father in 1979
By Marcie Cipriani
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OAKMONT, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — Eddie Hollinger says his dispute with Oakmont Verona Cemetery began after his mother died in 2022.
Hollinger said that’s when he learned that when his mother purchased the plot for her and his father in 1979, she also purchased plots for him and his sister, and those burial plots were under a newly built shed.
“My mother didn’t want this here,” Hollinger said. “She wanted me and my sister and my mother and father together in this spot, and this is unacceptable.”
Hollinger says once the error was discovered, the shed was cut back 4 feet to uncover their spots, but he wants it gone.
Hollinger said his mother toured the cemetery years ago and chose a sunny location for the family plots, which now stand in the shadow of a shed used to store maintenance tools and machinery.
The cemetery acknowledged the issue.
“Unfortunately, there was a mistake,” said Meg Burkhardt, the president of the cemetery’s board.
Burkhardt said the shed no longer covers the plot, but it is still needed.
“We need it for parking the equipment and things they use to maintain the grounds,” Burkhardt said.
The new superintendent at the cemetery says he doesn’t.
“I have my own equipment,” superintendent Matt Vybiral said. He added, “If there’s any problems with it, I can live without it.”
Vyrbiral had no idea the shed was an issue, nor did he know this was someone’s plot, until Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 told him. He quickly had it cared for.
“Somebody that I love is going to use these spots,” Hollinger said.
Burkhardt maintains that the cemetery has taken corrective action and has been willing to work with Hollinger.
“We can give you different graves. We’ll pay the costs of relocation,” she said.
Hollinger said he isn’t interested in moving the plots that his mother carefully chose, and he plans to keep fighting for the shed to go.
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