Who Would Stoop So Low As To Steal In A Cemetery?

My Grandma Rosie passed away two years ago in October. Our family met at the cemetery Memorial Day to have a service for her and other relatives.

We cleaned off the headstones and placed flowers on family graves. My mother was reading a book about the love and loss of a grandparent. There were 14 of us at Greenwood Memorial Terrace and the setting was peaceful. The lawn was very green and the flowers were all in bloom. Flags flew in honor of veterans. The sun cast long shadows through the trees. People were driving their cars slowly out of respect.

At a very emotional moment during the service, I looked up to hold back the tears. My sister yelled: “Hey, what’s that guy doing in my car!”

A man who looked to be in his late 30s had reached in the open car window and grabbed my sister’s wallet and a backpack. We were standing 20 feet away! We all ran after the thief, my husband leading the pack.

The thief jumped into another car where a driver waited and they sped off. The men in our family scrambled into our car and chased the other car at about 50 mph through the cemetery. The thieves threw the backpack and the wallet out the window before leaving the cemetery. Luckily, my sister only had $2 in the wallet and they didn’t have time to steal that.

We never caught the two men, but the make, model and license number of the getaway car will always remain in my mind. I will be forever looking for them.

The incident made me realize that no place is a “safety zone” from crime anymore, not even a cemetery on a crowded Memorial Day. No matter where you are or what you are doing, people have to be aware of what’s going on around them.

I also couldn’t believe someone would be so low as to take advantage of a grieving family. At first I was upset and angry because I couldn’t believe someone would ever consider or even attempt to do something like that such a sacred place.

Now I feel sorry for the people who would stoop to that level because I know when they are judged in heaven, there will be an angel named Grandma Rosie by God’s side. They will get their justice.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.