Headstone heartache as one family waits nearly two years for headstone
A family near Elk City has been waiting nearly two years for their mother’s headstone to be placed at her gravesite. The end of the waiting though, could soon be coming.
ELK CITY, Okla (KFOR) -- A family near Elk City has been waiting nearly two years for their mother’s headstone to be placed at her gravesite. The end of the waiting though, could soon be coming.
Right now all that's placed at Jeanenne Morales' grave is a tiny plaque with her name, and her family believes that's not enough to celebrate a mother, grandmother, and friend.
"She just has a little marker right now and she deserves to be recognized. And I'm the oldest of six…. It's impacted all of us. We want to see our mom celebrated and we feel like that's one of the ways that we can do it," said Linda Jones, who's been waiting almost two years for her mother's headstone.
Jeanenne Morales passed away from COVID in 2021.
"We ordered the headstone on October 1st of 2022. We were told at the time that it was going to take between six and nine months to get it in because granite was in short supply, logistic issues due to COVID," said Jones.
Jones paid $5,276 for the headstone from Martin-Dugger Funeral Home in Elk City.
As the nine month deadline was approaching last June, Jones followed up with the funeral home and learned the truck carrying her mother's headstone was in a wreck, ruining it.
"They were going to put a rush order on it. They would get it done as soon as they could," said Jones.
In November, she called again and was told the new headstone had a tiny crack.
"He was going to send it back to be polished, and that it would be set by the end of february," said Jones.
Jones and her siblings live in different states, so she said it's been hard to follow up with the funeral home since they don't all live in Oklahoma.
As she worried her mother's gravesite would still be empty nearly three years after her death, Jones called News 4.
Our team went to the Martin-Dugger Funeral Home on Monday to find out more about the headstone.
No one would go on camera, but confirmed the headstone would be placed at the gravesite on March 1.
"You guys did an amazing job reaching out. I mean, I submitted that this morning and within a couple hours you called," said Jones.
Jones said she will keep our team updated with the headstone placement on Friday.