Port Arthur native Rhonda Moser is concerned for her parents, one living and one deceased. Her mother is elderly and has to use a walker to get around; her father is buried at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Groves.

According to Moser, her mother likes to visit her husband’s grave and does so with some frequency. But, she says, her mother can’t visit after a heavy rain and said the cemetery will not do anything about it.

“My parents bought two plots so they could be next to my mother’s mother and her dad and brother’s grave. It already has her name on it,” Moser said.

The plot was bought about 25 years ago and Moser said it probably looked good then; but now, it is muddy and inaccessible at times.

“They say you’re getting perpetual care — and you’re paying for it — but that’s not what you’re getting,” Moser said. “If people bury their loved ones at Greenlawn, know that you’re not getting perpetual care.”

Moser has described her father’s grave after a rainstorm as inaccessible and completely submerged.

“Literally, his grave is sometimes an inch underwater after the rain. After the sun comes up, all it’s left with is mud and dirt,” Moser said. “There’s no grass. It’s in a low area.”

She added that tree coverage blocks direct sun, making the problem worse.

“All I’m asking for is to trim some trees…” she said. “The trees have grown so much over the grave no sun could get to the ground. The grass can’t get there. Every time it rains, the whole area is underwater or becomes a muddy mess.”

According to Moser, that prompted her to speak with the staff at Greenlawn and, eventually, general manager Keith Brown. She said she was told they would not make changes for one person. She said she told him the family would be willing to pay for someone to come and trim the trees and to plant the sod over the area.

“But we didn’t want to do that without his permission. We just wanted to find out if that would be okay,” Moser said.

According to Moser and her husband, if the trees nearby were trimmed, that would allow much-needed sunlight to reach the ground and help dry it up after a storm. Additionally, if grass were planted, it would help to hold soil and soak up groundwater.

“As it is, every time it rains, the soil erodes,” Moser said. “The headstone is cockeyed and sinking.”

However, she said all her suggestions were rejected flat out and now she doesn’t know what to do.

“I got up and walked to my car and cried,” she said, after her meeting with Brown.

“My dad was the mayor of Groves,” she said. “He was in the Navy; he was what they now call Navy SEALs. He was a frogman back in World War II and the Korean War.

“And I said he deserves more dignity and respect for what he accomplished in his life than being buried in a muddy grave under water.”

She said her mother worries that her grave will get the same treatment.

“All we want is for them to do the right thing and we’d even pay for it,” Moser said.

When The News reached out to Brown and Greenlawn Memorial Park for a response, Brown said he was unable to comment at the time.

He referred The News over to Service Corporation International, who issued the following statement on behalf of Greenlawn Memorial Park:

“Greenlawn Memorial Park is committed to providing all families with a well-maintained environment for visitation and remembrance. We are addressing the concern the family has brought to our attention and are working on providing a solution. We value the relationships we have with our client families.”