LEXINGTON, KY (WKYT/CNN) – When a Kentucky family arrived to bid a final goodbye to a loved one who died of cancer, they found her gravesite unfinished and, heartbroken, spent hours burying her themselves.
Krystina Gilbert’s family showed up at the Athens-Boones Creek Cemetery Thursday afternoon for a graveside service.
The 33-year-old Gilbert died following a years-long battle with brain cancer, and when that fight ended, her family wanted her buried near other loved ones.
"Krystina never once complained about her illness. She never got mad. She laughed. She had a laugh that – all of her friends kept saying yesterday – Krystina had the most infectious laugh,” said Krystina’s sister, Heidi Lawson.
But when the family arrived at the cemetery, they found an unfinished burial plot.
Gilbert’s husband says the grave was only one foot deep.
"I mean, so many emotions were going through me. I wanted to cry one minute. I didn't know how to act,” he said.
So, he picked up a shovel and, along with other family members, finished digging his wife’s grave. It took hours, but they wanted to make sure Gilbert was properly laid to rest.
"That was terrible to sit and watch your sister's coffin sitting there and your family burying her. It's not right,” Lawson said.
The family returned to the cemetery Friday, and there were still shovels and dirt near the grave.
"I still feel anger from yesterday. Like I said, it's hard enough to bury a sibling,” Lawson said.
The cemetery manager, Jerry Williams, says they’ve had problems with the employee who was supposed to dig Gilbert’s grave, and they’re searching for a new hire.
"I mean, we hire the people to do the work and they're supposed to do it, and if they don't, we just have to deal with it,” Williams said.
Gilbert’s family says they’re not looking for reimbursement but simply want to shield others from the pain they experienced.
"We just don't want anybody else to have to go through this,” Lawson said.
Copyright 2017 WKYT, Family photos via CNN. All rights reserved.
