It’s unthinkable… unimaginable that in the 21st century a grieving mother would be stricken in her time of greatest despair by the cold, heartless boot of government bureaucrats. After the devastating heartbreak of Jo Corbett-Weeks, 42, losing her four-year-old son Max to epilepsy amongst several other ailments, so financially stricken was her family by three years of battling his illnesses that they couldn’t afford a headstone to mark Max’s final resting place. Three years later, Jo had finally saved $4,580 for the design and installation of a spectacular headstone of a teddy-bear holding a large star, inscribed with a moving tribute to Max. A headstoned they’d be forced to remove.
Corbett-Weeks, who has two other children ages 16 and 5, said in a statement:
“It would have been Max’s seventh birthday on Sunday, and this was like a birthday present to him from me. I chose a star-shaped stone because I wanted something suitable for Max – something personal.”
“This stone is just so perfect for my poor little chap,” she added.
SICK: Mom Forced to Remove Headstone for Dead 4-Year-Old Boy for Infuriating Reason… http://t.co/bA4yzxoHYi #tcot pic.twitter.com/ILZCOxxS1y
— Conservative Tribune (@conserv_tribune) June 12, 2015
The Cold Disturbing Manner The Town Forced Compliance
What Jo didn’t know is that one single loudmouth complainer had gone behind her back to the Malvern, UK Town Council and asked for the headstone to be removed.
According to Independent Minute,
A Malvern Town Council spokesman explained to BBC:
“We have conformity of shapes in our lawn cemetery. We were contacted by people who objected to the shape. The longer it stayed up, the harder the process would have been. It was a very difficult decision to remove it but one we had to make straight away,” the spokesman said.
A spokesperson for the Malvern Town Council said it was a difficult decision to remove the headstone, but it was necessary because of the rules of the cemetery.
They added, “It wasn’t necessarily an objection to the shape but why we appeared to be applying one rule to one family and other rules to another. The stonemason in this situation did not have permission to put the stone up – and the stone is not in keeping with the graves in that area. By not following the correct process he has caused considerable distress to both families.”
Corbett-Weeks was completely blindsided though and couldn’t begin to anticipate what was coming. “I was totally unaware this was going on. The council did not contact me and it was the stonemason who told me he’d been ordered to remove it,” Corbett-Weeks added. “I feel upset, distressed and angry. We have been through so much as a family. I could understand if the grave was uncared for or unsightly, but it isn’t.
“The headstone meant a lot to me and the family but now we are fighting to have it put back,” she noted. “It’s a horrible situation. We just want to have somewhere to grieve.” In the cold world of the government’s bureaucrats, there’s no room for humanity.
