Respect denied at a funeral
Published 10:55 pm Friday, November 15, 2013
To the editor:
Recently, I attended a funeral in the city of Suffolk for a longtime close family friend. The funeral was held at R.W. Baker and Co. Funeral Home, with the burial at Holly Lawn Cemetery.
What I observed between the funeral home and the cemetery was one of the biggest displays of disrespect that one could witness.
During the transit from these two locations, not one intersection was blocked or traffic held at the cemetery for the funeral procession. Making matters more disrespectful was the fact that the procession had to stop and wait for the traffic light at Main and Constance.
After the service, I asked the attendant, “Where were the police to block the intersections?” His response was, “We call and always get the same answer — no one available.”
It is hard for me to believe that two or three officers could not have blocked and maintained the flow of traffic for this procession for the 15-minute ride to the final resting place for this person.
The last thing a person deserves when he or she leaves this Earth to go to be with his or her maker is respect. The last thing the city of Suffolk could do is honor that by not forcing his or her mourners to wait at a stop light.
Charles H Brothers Jr.
Gates, N.C.