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Man Buries Wife In Front Yard, Fights Government To Keep Her There

Published on: October 23, 2013 at 5:13 PM ET
David Cornell
Written By David Cornell
News Writer

A man buried his wife in their front yard, and he refuses to obey while the government wants him to dig her up and move her to a legal grave site.

James Davis’ wife Patsy had the dying wish to be buried in the front yard of the house they owned, and after asking permission to keep her there, the government is ordering him to dig her up. The Alabama citizen has told them he refuses to do so.

Apparently in the City of Stevenson, Alabama , an area close to the border where the state meets Georgia and Tennessee, it is illegal to bury your dead outside a designated cemetery.

On October 11, the local government declined the Alabama man’s appeal to keep his wife buried by the front porch of the house where the couple raised their five children. James Davis, 74, still stands by his decision, claiming that the unusual grave site is his piece of America . He was willing to give his life for his country, and he says this is no different.

The grave site where the man buried his wife in the front yard has all of the trimmings, from an ornate headstone to flowers marking the spot where his wife lies, sometimes replaced with scarecrows which seem to resemble their children.

Wow Alabama man buries wife in front yard as her final wishes…. Now battling court. #DirtySouth http://t.co/rIQkjSJZf7

— RYAN FITZ (@RYANFITZ) October 23, 2013

On the court order, James Davis said they’re waiting on him to die.

The Alabama man says he met Patsy at a very young age in Dayton, Tennessee. He was 11 and she was seven, and when she was a teenager, she asked him to join her on a trip to the strawberry festival. From then on, they knew they would be together until the end of their lives. They were married for 48 years.

Parker Edmiston, the city attorney, sees it another way. In order to remain fair, he has to stand by the law, “If you allow it for Mr. Davis, you allow it for Ms. Adams, Mr. Jones and everyone else.” The line must be drawn or more people will demand the laws be bent in their favor.

In spite of the near crippling legal fees, the man who buried his wife in the front yard is not budging. He has been sued and everything. James Davis has even run for Mayor and lost in his efforts to keep his wife Patsy where she is. He was even contacted by a couple of brothers from California who suggested turning his home into a church to make the grave site legal, but he isn’t having it.

James Davis will probably go to his own grave fighting to keep his wife buried by the front porch. The man who buried his wife in the front yard of their home is not giving in.

[image via shutterstock.com ]

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