Several families are upset and angry that mementos, flowers and other gifts were removed without warning from the headstones of loved ones at the North Burial Ground Monday.
John M. Sylvia III lost his son, John M. Sylvia IV, in a July 2003 car accident. He said he visits his grave almost every day, and the stone was adorned with a few simple remembrances — two angels, two candle holders and two solar lights. He was shocked to find them missing when he visited Tuesday.
"I'm absolutely dumb-founded," he said. "They walked on to my property and took my personal belongings."
"I can't believe the Town of Bristol would do something like this. At least notify people and give them a chance to dispute it or a chance to take it away. It's not like they were cutting grass and they were in the way."
Enzly Ramsay, the superintendent of the North and East Burial Grounds Commission, said the grounds have been cleaned before Easter in March every year for the past 30 years. He refused to comment further, and said the matter would be discussed at the monthly meeting of the commission at 2:30 p.m. Monday, March 24. The meeting will be held in a conference room at the Bristol Town Hall.
Despite the long-held policy, Mr. Silvia is not the only one upset.
Warren resident John Raposa, who lost his daughter Kayleigh to a car accident in February 2007, said all the items on and near her plot were also removed without warning or notice.
"We were pretty shocked and appalled at what happened," Mr. Raposa said. "We had just done a clean-up of it because it was the one-year anniversary ... They've actually been very, very good [in the past] because obviously it's a well-known spot for all the high school kids."
Mr. Raposa said his parents discovered that all the gifts had been taken when they went to visit Kayleigh's site. He said all the items had been bagged up and tossed into a shed for family members to retrieve, with many items — such as personalized ceramic plates and flip-flops — getting broken or muddy in the process.
"A lot of the bags had rips in them, and some of the stuff was just hanging out there," Mr. Raposa said.
Mr. Raposa said he was surprised when he learned about the problem, because he regularly sees the caretakers. He visits twice a day to read to Kayleigh, and he said caretakers have been very good and accommodating since the circumstances of Kayleigh's death, and the fact that she had many friends, attracts more visitors.
"It was pretty disturbing, especially since we just got on with the anniversary, so we didn't need this right now."
Mr. Sylvia said when he asked why his items had been taken, he was told that he had had five years to grieve. He called the Bristol Police Department, the Rhode Island State Police, local television stations and members of the North and East Burial Ground Commission, but got no response. He said if he had to, he would continue to fight for his son and his father, who is also buried in the North Burial Ground, even if it took him to court.
"I have to stick up for them because they can't do it for themselves any longer," Mr. Sylvia said.
By Stephen Greenwell
sgreenwell@eastbaynewspapers.com