An Alamance County cemetery buries another person in the family plot
Theresa Norton always wanted to be buried next to her mother, sister, and brother. That may be a problem after discovering the cemetery made a mistake.
Secrets are meant to be kept. So are problems that can cause pain or distress. Theresa Norton had a big problem that caused her heartache, so she kept a secret from her brother Jerry Groce.
A Devastating Diagnosis
“I didn’t want him to worry about it,” Norton said.
Her older brother Jerry had just been diagnosed with cancer and Norton didn’t want to cause any undo stress. So, for several months back in 2019 Norton kept something from him while fighting to make it right.
“I wanted to get this figured out before he found out,” Norton said.
The brother and sister had become incredibly close after Groce moved to Arizona to live close to Norton and her family. As kids, they bounced around foster homes and then started living on separate sides of the country.
Norton and Groce had four other siblings, but they all died before they were 50. When Groce was diagnosed with cancer, it was difficult for Norton to handle.
“He was [my] rock, I could count on him, and we were all we had left,” Norton said.
The diagnosis was devastating for both, but together they kept pushing on. Norton would take him to doctor’s appointments and chemotherapy sessions. After several months, cancer went into remission and things almost got back to normal.
Then after about 18 months, the cancer came back more aggressive. Groce fought but this cancer was a beast, and it was slowly killing him. In late 2021, Groce had to be rushed to the hospital.
'Am I Dying?'
“The tumor was growing, and it was pressing on his lungs causing excess bleeding,” Norton said.
They both knew it was just a matter of time before cancer would win. Groce and Norton spent a lot of time together before he passed.
“He looked at me and said, 'Am I dying?' And I said yes, yes you are Jerry,” Norton said.
As for that secret that Norton had been holding inside, that problem she didn’t want Groce to know about, eventually, he forced it out of her. Groce overheard Norton talking about his burial and the plans that were being made at Alamance Memorial Park.
The Secret
“I tried to keep it from him, but I eventually told him when he figured out something was wrong,” Norton said.
Norton had called the cemetery at the end of 2021 to ask about funeral arrangements. The cemetery is home to Norton and Groce’s sister and mother who passed away in 2000 and 2003. When their mom died in 2003, Norton and Groce purchased two other plots to ensure they’d be buried next to them.
“We really wanted to be together,” Norton said.
When Norton called about planning the funeral, she spoke with a person in the office that did some checking on the plots and everything that needed to be done prior to Groce’s passing.
“It was then told to me that one of the plots was sold to another person and someone is buried there,” Norton said.
The Plot Was Sold Twice
Back in 2011, eight years after purchasing the two plots, the cemetery buried another person in one of the plots. The plot was apparently sold twice, and the other family held the funeral in 2011. There is now just one plot open next to Norton and Groce’s mother and sister.
“I don’t know how this happens,” Norton said. “They’ve never really even apologized for this.”
StoneMor Inc owns the cemetery, but it didn’t when the mix-up happened. Back then, SCI North Carolina Funeral Services owned the cemetery.
“They (StoneMor) told me it was a clerical error,” Norton said.
StoneMor has told News 2 it has reached out to the other family to see if they could move the body to another part of the cemetery, but the family declined. StoneMor said it offered a generous package that includes additional plots at no cost, but the family chose to leave the body where it is.
“I was devastated and told them the other body needed to be moved,” Norton said.
A Legal Battle
This is where it gets tricky because the cemetery is not able to exhume a body without permission from the family or the courts. Norton is forced to hire an attorney and fight a legal battle to get the body exhumed.
“This is exhausting, I shouldn’t have to do this. It’s my plot, I own it,” Norton said.
The toughest part of all this is that her brother passed away earlier this year and he knew he would be buried next to a person he doesn’t know and with no open plot for his favorite sister.
“I promised him I would keep fighting to get this plot back,” Norton said.
Norton has filed suit in court and lists SCI North Carolina Funeral Services, StoneMor, and the family of the other person buried as defendants. The next court date is scheduled for November, but it is unclear if a ruling will come that day.
News 2 will keep you posted with any updates to this story.
