Dispute over headstone of local boy resolved
New memorial placed, as Clark County family dismisses civil lawsuit.
A months long dispute between a Clark County family and cemetery officials over the headstone design of a boy who died of cancer three years ago has been resolved, the family’s attorney said Thursday.
Brad and Lana Fitzsimmons, whose son Barrett died in 2019, had sued Myers Cemetery, where the boy is buried, because officials said his headstone had too many images. The limit is three.
The new headstone included pictures of young Barrett in his Northwestern football jersey and smiling with his arms outstretched, as well as images such as dinosaurs, turtles, robots and other items that captured the boy during his life. It was installed at Myers Cemetery, located in North Hampton, this week.
As a result, the Fitzsimmons family dismissed its civil lawsuit over breach of contract and other items against the Myers Cemetery Association, Nathan Stuckey said. The lawsuit was filed at the beginning of the year.
As part of the settlement, the cemetery association agreed to pour the foundation for the headstone and install it. Storage fees for the headstone were also waived, Stuckey said.
He said that the family is “relieved” for the lawsuit to be resolved.
Brad and Lana purchased three plots at the North Hampton cemetery after their son passed away, one for Barrett and the other two for themselves. After their son’s burial, the Fitzsimmons family hired Set N’ Stone, based in Urbana, to help design the headstone for all three plots. The headstone includes a bench design for visits to the boy’s grave.
The family was informed in April last year that the design for the headstone wasn’t approved by the cemetery. Former Myers
Cemetery Association president and chair Doug Miller, who died in February, previously said in an email to the News-sun that headstones are limited to three photos: the headstone features several photos on its front and its back.
In June 2021, the family attended the cemetery association’s annual meeting to appeal to association members in regard to the design. A motion to accept and approve the design passed. After the vote, the Fitzsimmons family contacted Set N’ Stone to engrave the headstone with the approved design. The memorial was completed in September and was ready for installation.
The cemetery association later told the family that the vote was null due to nonmembers participating and casting a vote, and thus, the headstone was not approved. The Fitzsimmons family requested a copy of minutes from the meeting, which lists the board’s vote as 14 to 4, saying the measure on the headstone design “does not have a majority vote needed.”
A makeshift grave marker – a metal cut-out of a T-rex – stood in place of a headstone at Barrett’s grave for several months.
“The Fitzsimmons family is grateful to all of those in the community who have shown support during this difficult process,” Stuckey, the family attorney said.