‘We will do whatever we have to do for Dad’
FAMILY IS SEEKING PERMISSION TO BURY THEIR FATHER AT HOME BESIDE HIS LATE WIFE
“This is the house where my wife died, where our children were born and raised. This is our place”
A WEST Wicklow man has said that he will do ‘whatever it takes’ to ensure that his father’s last wishes are carried out.
Stephen Sacker from Donard is seeking permission from Wicklow County Council to bury his father Hugh (91) beside his late mother Alma, who passed away in 1992 following a battle with breast cancer, at their home.
When Alma died, Hugh buried her on their rural family land in ‘Alma’s Garden’, a place that was very dear to her.
Now, he is fearful that he will be unable to be laid to rest with his wife, as legislation has changed and garden burials are no longer permitted in the county.
‘ This is the house where my wife died, where all our children were born and raised. This is our place,’ explained Hugh.
A retired professor of German, Hugh and Alma set up home in Donard in 1971 and raised their six children.
‘I took early retirement to consciously raise our children out of the system, without schooling, and to learn naturally as children do. I consider myself not as a human being, but as a piece of nature,’ Hugh said.
Stephen, who is a full-time carer for Hugh, said that since his father’s health deteriorated, ensuring that his final wishes are carried out became a priority.
He got in touch with Wicklow County Council, who referred him to Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Simon Coveney, who in turn referred him back to the Wicklow Burial Board, which is under the council.
‘We have been told nothing really except to apply to the Minister who then told us to go back to the burial board. It is very had to get any answers,’ Stephen said.
He said that the situation is causing the family a lot of stress and it is a constant worry. He said that all of his siblings agree that their father’s wish to be buried with his late wife should be honoured.
‘It is very difficult for all of us. It is what Dad wants and what we want. Whatever we have to do, then that is what we will do but we want to be able to do what he wants when the time comes,’ he added.
Stephen added that the loss of his mother when he was just 14 years old had a ‘devastating’ effect on him and he would hate to think of his parents being separated in death.
A spokesperson for Wicklow County Council said that the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1948, Section 44 which was amended in 1994, states: to any burials in gardens,’ the spokesperson said.
According to Baltinglass Municipal District Councillor Gerry O’Neill, the local members are sympathetic to the Sacker family’s predicament and will be raising the matter at the district’s March meeting.