A week after Jonathan Aguirre was laid to rest Dec. 5 at Wildwood’s Greenwood Cemetery, his family received a call that his body would need to be dug up and moved because the plot was owned by another family.
Aguirre, 32, died Nov. 27 and his family bought the plot at the city-owned cemetery three days later.
After the funeral, another family presented a receipt showing they had purchased the same plot in 2005. They apparently recognized the plot from a photo of Jonathan Aguirre’s funeral posted on Facebook.
Jonathan Aguirre was a native of the Bronx, N.Y. and the father of four children. You can read his obituary at this LINK.
The plot is next to the grave of Timothy Nordle Jr., who died 15 years ago. The Nordle family did not return phone messages left at a business number. Both families are long-time Wildwood area residents.
The mix-up has caused considerable angst for Aguirre family members, who do not want Jonathan’s body moved.
“This is opening wounds that have not yet even been able to close,” said Chrystal Aguirre, Jonathan’s sister. “My parents haven’t even finished mourning.”
A city employee told the Aguirre family no records indicated the plot already had been sold.
“We scheduled a meeting at city hall to meet with the other family to see if we could work out a solution out but the other family didn’t show,” Chrystal Aguirre said.
Wildwood City Manager Jason McHugh described the mix-up as “an unfortunate situation.” He said moving Jonathan Aguirre’s grave is one solution, but his family isn’t interested in that.
“We understand this is a difficult situation for everyone involved and the city recognizes how emotionally impactful this error is for the family,” he said. “Given that this is an unprecedented situation, the city is now in the process of determining the appropriate course of action from here.”
