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Call 11 for Action: Woman working to uncover family graves at Toledo's Calvary Cemetery

Each time Barbara Grohowski visits her parents and daughter, who are buried at Calvary Cemetery, she struggles to find their gravesites.

TOLEDO, Ohio — It may sound morbid but gravesites are a major investment many of us will make one day, whether for a loved one or ourselves.

But what happens when maintenance falls short and gravesites become neglected and unkempt?

At Calvary Cemetery on Dorr Street, you could say there's a whole lot waiting to be re-discovered.

Credit: WTOL

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"I brought my weed-eater out and clipped all the grass around the stones, but this last time I came out, I can't find them at all," Barbara Grohowski said.

Grohowski knows this place all too well.

She buried her young baby girl here half a century ago and more recently, she laid her parents to rest nearby.

"It's probably been 50 years ago for my baby daughter and then it's probably been about 12 years for my mom and dad," Grohowski said.

But years of rest have also caused years of neglect. Gravesites sink as time passes, but Barbara's memories of her family don't.

"It's sad to come out here and you can't visit your parents," she said. "And my daughter was only six weeks old and that tears at my heart."

So Barbara turned to WTOL 11, hoping cemetery leaders will try to mend those wounds.

"I just want them brought up so I can see where it's at," she said.

WTOL 11 got in touch with leaders at the cemetery. They said they are sorry to see that these gravesites have been overlooked. Now, leaders are working with Barbara to raise the plots at no cost to her.

A cemetery employee told WTOL 11 they are hoping to have that done in the coming days or weeks.

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