BROKEN ARROW, Okla — Penny and Ray Richardson shared a 40-year love affair.
"We met 40 years ago, " Penny Richardson said, "and we'd been married for 37 years."
Together, they raised children from previous marriages and shared careers in real estate.
They shared a love of travel, encompassing trips across the globe.
They also loved being part of the ham radio operators' communities in Broken Arrow and Tulsa. Ray's ham radio antenna towers over their home.
"He would talk every day to a friend on the radio," Penny said.
A decade ago, when they bought a plot at Tulsa's Memorial Park Cemetery, they had a special headstone made and put over it. It featured a bronze plaque with a radio tower and their call signs engraved on it, along with their names and birth dates. Later, death dates could be added to the monument.
At that same time, they pre-paid for Ray to be buried in the plot featuring their headstone.
In late October, the day before Ray's funeral, Penny told 2 News she got called to Memorial Park's Office to pay a $1,075 fee because her name is also on the stone.
She told 2 News she didn't bring anyone to that meeting and didn't understand why she was paying another fee.
"We had paid for everything in advance," she said.
She asked what it was for, "She said 'if you had bought it at our place, at Memorial Park, you wouldn't have had that problem.'"
At that point, Penny said, "I feel like my arm was twisted. I put it on my credit card. I just gave it to her and got it, and as I left, I thought, why am I paying? I already paid."
A couple weeks later, Penny received a contract saying the fee covered a "second rite." In other words, a fee to bury her at her time of need."
She said she won't sign the contract and wants her money back.
"The more I thought about it," she said, "the more I thought they took advantage of me when I was upset and hurting."
2 News contacted Memorial Park Cemetery and spoke with its trustee, Tom Robertson.
He said Memorial Park did not take advantage of Mrs. Richardson. He told us the fee was explained, but he also understands if, in her time of grief, she didn't realize it was for her future burial if she chose to be interred with Ray. He also said if she wanted to talk about the situation, she could contact him.
As 2 News looked into this issue, we contacted theOklahoma Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unitto see how consumers can avoid similar situations. It suggests being wary of making large purchases during times of increased stress, as well as always asking if the purchase is necessary at the moment or if it can wait.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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