A surprise decision to remove mementos and trinkets from gravesites at the Langley Lawn Cemetery and dump them in a corner is being condemned as disrespectful by families of loved ones interred at the Township cemetery.

Robbie Franks and his wife, Devon Franks, made the discovery when they dropped by the cemetery at 4393 208th St. in Brookswood to visit his younger brother, Richard.

Franks said the family had left mementos on RichardB次元官网网址檚 gravesite, including some imitation cheeseburgers, RichardB次元官网网址檚 favourite meal, and a chain with a cross his sister had left.

B次元官网网址淓verything was taken,B次元官网网址� Franks said.

He and Devon found some of the items in a pile with mementos from other graves, but the chain and cross are missing.

B次元官网网址淢y sister is devastated,B次元官网网址� Franks said.

Franks called it B次元官网网址渢he most disrespectful thing I have ever seen in all my 43 years of being alive.B次元官网网址�

In the seven years that Richard has been interred at Langley Lawn, B次元官网网址渘o one has ever touched anything,B次元官网网址� an angry Franks told Black Press.

He said the action was taken sometime between his previous visit on May 15 and the Friday.

Other families had similar reactions.

When Christina Skingsley saw an online post about the removals, she discovered that everything left on her fatherB次元官网网址檚 gravesite was gone, including a heart-shaped ornament she left at Christmas.

B次元官网网址淚t said he was the best dad ever, and I was glad to have him,B次元官网网址� Skingsley recalled.

B次元官网网址淚n 20-plus years (since her father was laid to rest), not once have they ever touched the trinkets we put there. ItB次元官网网址檚 always been the flowers (they remove).B次元官网网址�

On the day she went, other families were searching through the discarded items, trying to find what was removed, Skingsley said.

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B次元官网网址淭here were people there, crying, searching, going through the pile,B次元官网网址� Skingsley said.

Shirley Johannesson, whose father, Herbert Brent, mother Frances Brent, and sister Beverly Wright are at Langley Lawn, called it a B次元官网网址減ure violation of our sacred space.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淢y dad has been there for 51 years, and this has never happened,B次元官网网址� Johannesson told the Langley Advance Times.

B次元官网网址淲e left some things. TheyB次元官网网址檙e all gone. ItB次元官网网址檚 all in a pile.B次元官网网址�

On MotherB次元官网网址檚 Day, all of the mementos on her family members gravesites were still in place, Johannesson said.

B次元官网网址淚f we had known that the Township had decided to discard them like garbage, we could have brought them home that day and kept them safe,B次元官网网址� Johannesson said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just so sad and heart breaking.B次元官网网址�

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In fact, family mementos have been removed from all three cemeteries operated by the Township B次元官网网址� Langley Lawn, Murrayville and Fort Langley B次元官网网址� according to an unsigned statement issued in response to a Black Press query.

It said B次元官网网址渁 significant number of flowers, adornments, and decorations had accumulated over time, including several broken or deteriorated items, posing an increasingly challenging and unsafe condition for maintenance staff and the public.B次元官网网址�

Notices of the impending removal were put up at cemetery entrances and online, the statement claimed, and promised that staff were B次元官网网址渃ommitted to the provision of additional, more detailed information, in advance of any future necessary removals.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲hen I go to pay my respects, IB次元官网网址檓 not looking for signs,B次元官网网址� Franks said.