High winds that swept through the area June 9 caused severe damage at the Worthing Cemetery on the south side of town.
Worthing Cemetery Association’s Lyle Devitt said the wind took down 28 large evergreens. Some of those trees were more than 100 years old. The wind took out a row of trees in the middle of the cemetery except for one tree in the middle.
Two trees fell on the north fence and damaged that. Falling trees also damaged two tombstones.
“One tombstone that was a three-tier one that toppled over, was a very old stone and had been there a long time,” he said. “I got another stone that was tipped over, too. The three-tier one was one of the oldest ones out there.”
Devitt has been fielding calls from family members from as far away as Texas, California and Michigan, who have relatives buried in the cemetery.
Family Memorials by Gibson reached out to Devitt and offered to reset the damaged stones at no charge. They will have to wait until the tree company can remove all of the damaged trees.
Devitt said he had an estimate for tree removal the next morning and cleanup began that day. The company started by cutting off all the branches. Devitt said they planned to remove the logs this week.
The cemetery association is seeking monetary donations to help pay for the cleanup. Checks can be made to Worthing Cemetery Association and can be dropped off at Worthing City Hall.
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