Family upset after car show held at Jefferson Memorial Cemetery – WPXI

PITTSBURGH — A local family is upset after they say they went to visit a loved one at a local cemetery, only to find a car show instead.

Bill Petrosky Jr. tells Channel 11 that he has several members of his family buried in Jefferson Memorial Cemetery in Pleasant Hills, a place he thought was dignified and a respectable resting place. That was until last weekend. On Sunday, Petrosky says his father went to lay flowers at his mother’s grave.

“There was someone directing traffic and he had to change his route,” Petrosky said. “They said, ‘Go ahead.’ They were really ignorant with him.

The memorial park announced its 10th annual drive-in cruise on its Facebook page. The event included food trucks, beer and live music.

Petrosky took to social media to express how disrespectful he found the event.

“Other people started reaching out saying a lady couldn’t get to her husband’s grave because of all the commotion and congestion and left crying” , said Petrosky.

Channel 11 has contacted the Jefferson Memorial Cemetery, Funeral home, Crematory & Arboretum. The memorial park said in a statement that it was not a “traditional cemetery” and that the event was to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. The company also said, “We are extremely careful to use only non-funeral property to host this event.”

“People on social media said there were lawn chairs very close, in the grass where the graves are, there were selfies taken, you could see the gravestones right behind them,” he said. said Petrosky. “It’s rest in peace, isn’t it?” Who sees a beer tent in a cemetery?

On the company’s Facebook page, a handful of people seem to support the idea that cemeteries aren’t just for burials.

However, Petrosky says what they did was wrong.

“I know that every time we sat down and talked with them about my mom’s site, it was never in a pamphlet, pamphlet or never talked about it,” Petrosky said. “I agree, maybe they’re trying to attract a different kind of people, maybe a younger generation and that’s a business tactic.”

The memorial park says every year that it tells the community about its events and the activities it will bring to the area. As for last weekend’s event, the memorial park says it raised $2,200.

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