Troubleshooters Investigation: Family Waits 9 Months for Loved One's Headstone
By: Alexis Wiley
Updated: February 13, 2007
When a loved one dies, most of us memorialize them with headstones. One East Texas family, however, has not been able to do that; not because they did not purchase one, but, because it never came. Ellen Parr had been trying to resolve the problem on her own for nearly a year now. Yet, she was getting nowhere and that is why the KTAL Troubleshooters got involved.
"We wanted everybody to know that she was here," Audrey Gros, Parr's daughter, said, " her life meant something and it meant everything to us." Parr and her daughter Audrey are struggling to make good on a promise to someone they loved. Parr's daughter Sheila passed away in April 2006 after a bout of pneumonia. Ellen and Audrey handled the funeral arrangements. Yet, there's one piece that's still unfinished: Sheila's headstone. "I felt really bad and defeated," Parr said, " i felt like we let her down." Yet, this was never their fault.
Soon after Sheila's death, Parr ordered a headstone from Stevens Monuments in Atlanta, Texas. " It looked like a business, they had monuments there and it seemed legitimate," Gros said. But, after they gave owner Robert Stevens a $200 deposit, things seemed a little fishy. "It looked like stuff was disappearing, " Parr said, " they were taking monuments away and I knew something was wrong." Parr was right. Stevens Monument had shut down. "I kept going up there to pay the balance but the man was never there," Parr said.
9 months later, Sheila's grave remains unmarked. The KTAL Troubleshooters decided to track down Stevens ourselves and found him at his home. He would not speak to us on camera but said the problems stem from a financial dispute between his company, Stevens Monuments, and Paris Monuments in Paris Texas. Stevens says other families are waiting on headstones as well. Yet, thanks to our help, families like the Parrs won't have to wait much longer. Paris Monuments has agreed to finish the headstone as long as the family pays the remaining balance. That's a deal Sheila's loved ones can live with. After speaking to KTAL, Stevens has apologized for the grief this has caused his customers. He says he is now working with Paris Monuments to resolve their financial dispute and finish all the headstones.
"We wanted everybody to know that she was here," Audrey Gros, Parr's daughter, said, " her life meant something and it meant everything to us." Parr and her daughter Audrey are struggling to make good on a promise to someone they loved. Parr's daughter Sheila passed away in April 2006 after a bout of pneumonia. Ellen and Audrey handled the funeral arrangements. Yet, there's one piece that's still unfinished: Sheila's headstone. "I felt really bad and defeated," Parr said, " i felt like we let her down." Yet, this was never their fault.
Soon after Sheila's death, Parr ordered a headstone from Stevens Monuments in Atlanta, Texas. " It looked like a business, they had monuments there and it seemed legitimate," Gros said. But, after they gave owner Robert Stevens a $200 deposit, things seemed a little fishy. "It looked like stuff was disappearing, " Parr said, " they were taking monuments away and I knew something was wrong." Parr was right. Stevens Monument had shut down. "I kept going up there to pay the balance but the man was never there," Parr said.
9 months later, Sheila's grave remains unmarked. The KTAL Troubleshooters decided to track down Stevens ourselves and found him at his home. He would not speak to us on camera but said the problems stem from a financial dispute between his company, Stevens Monuments, and Paris Monuments in Paris Texas. Stevens says other families are waiting on headstones as well. Yet, thanks to our help, families like the Parrs won't have to wait much longer. Paris Monuments has agreed to finish the headstone as long as the family pays the remaining balance. That's a deal Sheila's loved ones can live with. After speaking to KTAL, Stevens has apologized for the grief this has caused his customers. He says he is now working with Paris Monuments to resolve their financial dispute and finish all the headstones.
