- Families struggle to find graves amid overgrown grass and brush
- Understaffing and rain cited as maintenance challenges
- Residents call for better accountability and care
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Visiting a cemetery isn’t an everyday occurrence for most people. But for those who do, the expectation is simple: to see and honor their loved one’s resting place. For one North Omaha resident, that expectation remains unfulfilled.
On a recent visit to Mount Hope Cemetery in North Omaha, I set out to see the problem for myself. The grounds were overgrown, making it difficult to navigate or even recognize individual graves.
“The grass was really high and all of this ground… and brush you see around… was covering everything like it is now,” said Vita Haynes, a local resident. Haynes has several family members buried at Mount Hope, but during a recent visit, she couldn’t even locate her cousin’s grave.
“Even right now, I'm still trying to find him… but I don't want to keep stepping on people because I find it disrespectful,” she said, expressing her frustration and sadness over a situation she calls “a puzzle” that families shouldn’t have to solve.
“People pay all that money… to give them the proper burial… and this what they get? Yeah, no… unacceptable,” Haynes added.
Mount Hope Cemetery declined an interview, citing understaffing and recent rains that have made it challenging to keep up with mowing.
To get perspective on cemetery upkeep challenges, I spoke with Deacon Steve Hill, Director of Cemeteries for the Archdiocese of Omaha, who oversees five metro area cemeteries.
“During the summer months the main thing is mowing, fertilizing, getting some weed killer down… just trying to do some weed prevention,” said Hill. He manages 170 acres with a staff of just 15, emphasizing the continual challenge of groundskeeping.
Hill urges families to contact their cemetery office or call in work orders to flag specific issues, saying the process is similar to maintenance requests in an apartment complex.
Mount Hope, however, is not part of the Catholic cemetery system and operates independently.
While Haynes plans to visit the Mount Hope office herself in hopes of improvement, her concern isn’t just for her own loved ones.
“Not just my loved ones… but everyone else's… they don't deserve that… at all,” Haynes said.
In North Omaha, families hope for changes that will allow them to honor and remember relatives in a dignified environment—one where no grave goes hidden beneath the grass.
