Sacred Neglect: Families continue to press for improvements at Santa Teresa cemetery
Rosemary Montañez
SANTA TERESA, New Mexico (KVIA) — Some families are feeling hopeful after conditions have improved at Memory Gardens of the Valley in Santa Teresa.
Many prominent El Paso figures are buried here, including Don Haskins and Abraham Chavez.
Back in June, loved ones were frustrated and seeking answers to what they called the declining state of the cemetery. ABC-7 found dead grass, sunken headstones, gopher mounds, ant hills and dying trees.
Gary Aboud’s 14-year-old son, Braden, is buried there, as well as 10 other family members. He is a frequent visitor.
“When we come to reflect on the lives well lived by them, we come to find some peace, and the surrounding has just really become so sad for us to visit on a regular basis,” he said.
Aboud explained how the conditions had evolved over the last few years.
“It has just deteriorated. Unbelievable over the last probably 5 to 7 years, and I just felt the need to come forward, not just for my family, but for this community,” Aboud said.
Other loved ones also noticed the visible transformation. Nichole Diamond’s mother is buried here. She said visiting her mother’s graveside was difficult.
“To see it in this kind of neglect is just, it’s just very disappointing for her and for family like myself. Now, when we come back, it’s almost like it hurts all over again. And so I think a lot of people are very disappointed,” Diamond said.
She and others were calling on management to make urgently needed repairs.
“I’m just calling for a little responsibility from the owners to understand that it’s not only our loved ones’ peace but our peace as well,” she said.
Aboud said he felt like he had no other choice and had even brought his gardener to weed his son’s plot.
He said he had complained throughout the years, but nothing had ever been done about it.
“These last several months, it’s taken just a different direction and has gotten substantially worse than, than I’ve seen it in years, to be honest with you.”
Aboud said a change in ownership is to blame. ABC-7 learned the owners live in Knoxville, TN., not in Santa Teresa.
He explained ownership shifted in the early 2000s, and that’s when he began to notice the gradual changes in maintenance and upkeep.
“They have, what I understand, quite a few cemeteries. And I just think it’s one of these situations, out of sight, out of mind. And I don’t think that they have a real comprehension of how this area actually looks,” he said.
In June, Aboud’s wife made a post on Facebook criticizing the conditions of the cemetery. The post was shared dozens of times and received many comments sharing their same sentiments from others.
Aboud said this prompted the cemetery to hire temporary workers to clean up the property. He said prior to this, he hadn’t seen employees in about three or four years.
ABC-7 visited the office of Memory Gardens of the Valley.
The cemetery only provided ABC-7 with a written statement. It reads in part: “We take our responsibility to the families we serve very seriously at Memory Gardens of the Valley. We have experienced issues with personnel and irrigation system over the past several months. We have that behind us, and we are working diligently towards our resolutions on our water system. We currently have about half of the water system operational and we hope to have 100% operational by the end of the week.”
Aboud argued this was a years-long issue and not just a recent problem with the irrigation system.
ABC-7 filed multiple open records requests with the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, the County of Doña Ana and the City of Sunland Park. We inquired if any formal complaints had been filed against Memory Gardens of the Valley pertaining to the conditions.
In the end, no responsive records were found.
ABC-7 also attempted multiple times to get in contact with the owners of Memory Gardens of the Valley, Dennis and Kim Bridges. We requested an on-camera interview, seeking further clarification and to get their side of their story.
ABC-7 finally heard back in early August.
They wrote an email that stated in part, “Over the last several weeks Memory Gardens of the Valley has made great progress with our irrigation system and the impact it has had with our grass growth. Our grounds crew is fully staffed and we are working through garden by garden to identity and correct problem areas. We are not at 100% as yet, however, it can’t be overlooked that the problem areas are getting smaller and smaller every day.”
ABC-7 also returned to the Memory Gardens of the Valley to check on the current conditions. The area had changed. ABC-7 also met up with Gary Aboud to get his thoughts on the improvements.
“It’s greener, and I’m sure that’s because of the rain. But if you’re up close, most of the green is crabgrass and weeds, to be honest with you. And I know they’re making an effort. I can see the sprinklers are running on the south side, which is good news. But they’re actually watering a lot of the driveway, to be honest.”
Aboud said the fundamental issues were still present.
“I’m not quite sure what they are watering, but they are working, and they look like they’re working well. I just know that there’s still lots and lots of patches on the ground, and there are a lot of sunken markers as well.”
Memory Gardens of the Valley in Santa Teresa is an endowed care cemetery. It’s privately owned; a portion of what families pay goes into creating a trust fund to help with the upkeep of the cemetery.
The New Mexico Financial Institution Division told ABC-7 they don’t oversee the cemeteries, but rather that is left to the local government.
The City of Sunland Park said, “We provide the business registration. It is privately owned, and a political subdivision (I.e. City) has no authority to impose on the operation on a private business.”
Essentially, no one regulates or oversees the conditions of Memory Gardens of the Valley.
Aboud said he won’t stop raising concerns until his son’s resting place is restored.
“This is not the end. We are going to continue to be very aggressive. We’re not giving up, to be honest with you. We’re moving forward. We’re gonna, we’re doing it for everybody. We’re not just doing it for ourselves.”
In the final days of August and almost three months since our investigation began, we returned to the Memory Gardens of the Valley cemetery. The grass was much greener, and many tombstones had been cleaned up. Many workers were still working on portions of cemetery.
Aboud said while the conditions are a lot better, they are still not 100% where they should be.
He said his family and many others feel hopeful about the future of this cemetery, but he said he won’t stop raising concerns and pressing for answers.
The City of Sunland Park said families with loved ones buried at the Memory Gardens of the Valley Cemetery who have concerns can reach out to the BBB or to the New Mexico Attorney General.
Those in Texas can file a formal complaint with the State of Texas through the Texas Funeral Service Commission. You can fill out a complaint form by clicking here.
You can also learn more by visiting the Texas Department of Banking.
Those in New Mexico can submit a complaint through the New Mexico Department of Justice. Click here to learn more.