ROSENBERG, Texas — A woman in Rosenberg said she and others are upset at the cemetery where their loved ones are buried after the decorations placed on people's graves were discarded without warning.
"My mom, my six sisters, we all come out here frequently to clean the grave. You know, we spend time out here," Lisa Reyes said.
Reyes said she and her family have been going to the cemetery for years to visit her grandfather and then her grandmother after she passed away in 2021. She said her family would leave decorations for every season and occasion.
"There was a real pretty flower here that my niece left and a glass rose. Several other little things are gone," Reyes said. "One evening I came by to clean my grandmother's grave and leave some flowers. And when I arrived, I realized that there were some items missing from her gravesite."
Reyes said when she asked cemetery staff, they told her groundskeepers cleaned up the area and that the items could be found near the dumpster.
"I couldn't believe what I saw. Hundreds of items, pictures, memories, so many things. It was heartbreaking," Reyes said.
At the entrance of the cemetery, a sign has some rules including about decorations. However, Reyes said they were never enforced.
"Why clean up the gravesites now? We've been doing this for years," Reyes said.
Her family and others she knows said they are upset that they weren't notified about the cleanup. Reyes said some took to social media to voice their concerns.
"That's the only form of love we can give to our loved ones is flowers and little trinkets, you know, and it's upsetting," Reyes said.
After looking through the decorations removed from the gravesites, Reyes said she found some of her family's things. She said she understands there are rules but she wishes they would have been informed and the situation would have been handled with more sensitivity and care.
The general manager at Davis-Greenlawn Funeral Home and Cemetery responded to KHOU 11 request for comment by sending the basic cemetery rules and regulations and this year's decoration policy and clean-up dates. It states that any decorations not in an approved vase are subject to removal at any time.