JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The peaceful image of Restlawn Memorial Park tells very little about it its history of turmoil.
"We have to establish credibility," said Mark Riposta.
Riposta took over the cemetery when it went into foreclosure and became the owner in December 2014.
"In my forty years of working (with cemeteries), I have not seen something that needed this much consideration," he said.
There are a number of issues he has been tackling, one by one. Among the biggest is the reopening roads closed by the previous owners.
"We have 18 acres out here with no roads," he said. "We have ten acres up front with roads."
The previous owners closed the roads to used them as burial space.
"They made a decision to go to the back of the cemetery excavate the roads and just bury all the way through," said Riposta.
He said it is not illegal but it was inappropriate. Since he has been the owner, he has found new grave sites.
"This was run poorly, not just with the previous owners, but since the 1980s," he said.
To show it can be a showcase in Northwest Jacksonville, Ripsota has created two new gardens and is now developing a new cemetery, Restlawn South, next to historic Greenwood.
He is also meeting with families to transfer their loved ones from the closed roads to a proper burial space with a proper deed.
"It is the right thing to do," he said.
It is being done at his expense. Even so, he said it is not easy telling a family member his relative has to be moved
"If I didn't have the faith of something greater than me, I don't know if I would have entered that zone," he said.
He said he understands the emotions and he is very sensitive to the issue, and that's why the family has the final say. So far, he has made 400 transfers.
"People leave very comfortable," he said.
But there is much more to do -- he may have to move as many as 1,500 graves over the next two years.
Riposta believes rebuilding Restlawn's credibility with the community has to begin with each family that has a loved one buried in his cemetery.
He said he knows he is doing the right thing because he can sleep well at night.
