This weekend, we were in northeast Alabama, and one of the places we drove through is Stevenson, where a man has just had the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals rule against him because he buried his wife in their front yard.
The city of Stevenson ordered him to move his wife, who died in 2009. The crux of the matter might fall into the difference between a family burial plot and a cemetery as to what kind of restrictions they can really make.
We found the home — it’s in the middle of Stevenson with a ‘Get Out and Vote’ sign on the side of the house (he ran for office) and ‘Let Patsy Rest in Peace’ in the side yard. Patsy is there among all the flowers, at the right-front corner of the house:
The story has become so big that the AP did a story which USA Today, among others, ran:
As it is, Davis said his five children will bury him in the yard beside Patsy after he dies, and they and his 15 grandchildren will care for the property from then on.
“That’s my perpetual care,” said Davis, referring to the city’s worry about what the grave will look like after he dies.
Davis is adamant that he won’t move the body, regardless of what any court says.
“If they get it done it’ll be after I’m gone,” said Davis. “So if they order her to be moved, it’s a death sentence to me. I’ll meet Mama sooner than I planned on it.”