BARTOW, Fla. — Chris Paul buried his father, Jerry once. He doesn't want to do it again.
"He was a great man, loved his family, fought for his country," said Paul.
Jerry Paul, a Vietnam vet, father, and grandfather died in April of 2017. One year later -- just as Chris Paul and his wife Sara were arranging to have the headstone installed -- the city of Bartow called them with shocking news.
Paul says the city informed them his father had been accidentally buried in a space owned by someone else at Wildwood Cemetery, and they intended to dig him up and move him to the correct plot.
"There was no compassion there at all by the city," Sara Paul, Jerry's daughter-in-law remembered.
The Pauls decided they weren't going to let the city of Bartow dig Jerry up and move him without a fight.
"We believe it’s sacrilegious," Sara said. "He had his military service here with honors and by the city leading us to believe all the spaces were available for us to purchase, and we don’t want to see him dug up."
The Pauls said they were advised by a cemetery employee to pick the specific plot of land Jerry is buried in because there are other plots on either side they could purchase for additional family members in the future.
Sara Paul acknowledges there is no solution to this mix-up.
"We don’t want to move him but yet; we still can’t keep him there, you know because the other lady wants her plot and it’s not fair to her," explained Sara.
The Bartow City Attorney Sean Parker said, "The City remains committed to working with the family to find a reasonable and appropriate solution to the matter involving the location of Mr. Paul's burial."
Parker says the mix-up happened just before Paul's burial. City workers inadvertently marked a space approximately 20 feet over from where Mr. Paul's actual space is located. The space where he is buried was unoccupied, so the error was not readily discovered at the time. Parker called it, "an honest mistake."
In the meantime, the Pauls hired an attorney to help them fight for their father's wish to rest in peace.
What other people are reading right now:
- This is the last known photo of missing 4-year-old Maleah Davis
- FHP: Florida man driving Cadillac from sunroof says he'd rather go to jail than back to his wife
- Florida family gets $6 million after woman falls, is left lying in heat at assisted living facility
- Both parents now charged after teen says she ran away with man she met online to avoid rape
- Video shows healthcare staff punching, beating man with disabilities with belt
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10News app now.
Have a news tip? Email desk@wtsp.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.