How would you feel if your neighbor buried someone in his front yard? Oh, this is creepy!
James Davis of Stevenson, Alabama is fighting to keep his wife where she wanted to be buried, in their front yard.

 

The Associated Press reports:

Davis said he was only abiding by Patsy Ruth Davis’ wishes when he buried her outside their log home in 2009, yet the city sued to move the body elsewhere. A county judge ordered Davis to disinter his wife, but the ruling is on hold as the Alabama Civil Court of Appeals considers his challenge.

Davis, 73, said he never expected such a fight.

“Good Lord, they’ve raised pigs in their yard, there’s horses out the road here in a corral in the city limits, they’ve got other gravesites here all over the place,” said Davis. “And there shouldn’t have been a problem.”

While state health officials say family burial plots aren’t uncommon in Alabama, city officials worry about the precedent set by allowing a grave on a residential lot on one of the main streets through town. They say state law gives the city some control over where people bury their loved ones and have cited concerns about long-term care, appearance, property values and the complaints of some neighbors.

“We’re not in the 1800s any longer,” said city attorney Parker Edmiston. “We’re not talking about a homestead, we’re not talking about someone who is out in the country on 40 acres of land. Mr. Davis lives in downtown Stevenson.”

The big problem here,  is the City Council rejected Davis’ request for a cemetery permit back when his wife died, but the county health department signed off on burial, saying it wouldn’t cause any sanitation problems.

Davis ignored the City Council’s decision and buried his wife in his front yard anyway.

 

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