Repairs Begin At Oaklawn Cemetery After More Than 60 Headstones Damaged

Repairs are underway at Oaklawn Cemetery, after Tulsa Police arrested a man for damaging more than 60 headstones. 

A team of people hired by the city spent hours working Monday but had to stop because of the rain. They said they fixed about two thirds of the headstones that had damage. 

The crew working at Oaklawn is from the company Wilbert Funeral Services, and several of the workers came from Kansas to help get the job done. 

Gary Moiser, the Sales Manager for the wholesale division of Wilbert Memorials, said this work will cost the city approximately $17,500, which the city said will come from general fund money.

This is after Tulsa Police arrested Joshua Dean, and said he damaged or destroyed about 65 headstones earlier this month. Records show he is still in jail. 

Mosier shared why making the repairs is so important.  

"These families deserve for their memories to be maintained. They're here forever. And someone has to take care of them and so I guess we consider it a blessing for us, that we're able to do that. You know? But we just hate to see it happen,” Mosier said. 

Mosier said things could have been much worse. He said most of the headstones are marble, which he said is very soft and porous. 

He said the headstones could have easily broke in half when they fell over, but only four of the roughly 65 headstones need to be replaced. 

Still, the team is working with some century-old headstones. 

"The first one we reset there on the corner, was born in 1915 and passed away 1917 almost exactly to the date from when he was born. So it's kind of interesting. It's a very old cemetery. A lot of old handwork out here that can't be replaced today,” Vice President of Memorials for Wilbert Mike Forbes said. 

The team doing the repairs is keeping an eye on the forecast. Despite the rain, their goal is to finish the job by the end of the week.