Colorado Cemetery Demands Removal of Headstone with Middle Finger Images
A grieving family in Colorado Springs has been plunged into a bitter dispute with cemetery authorities after being ordered to remove a headstone they commissioned for their deceased brothers because it features images of middle fingers. The headstone, which marks the graves of Timothy and Ryan Geschke at Evergreen Cemetery, has become the centre of a conflict between personal memorialisation and institutional regulations.
Family's Shocking Discovery at Gravesite
Sisters Heidi and Holly Geschke were horrified to discover black tape covering what cemetery management deemed "offensive" gestures when they recently visited their brothers' resting place. The cemetery subsequently informed the family that the entire headstone must be taken down, according to local reports from KOAA.
The memorial features photographs of the brothers and their family alongside three separate images of middle fingers. Particularly prominent are two large middle finger depictions flanking the Geschke family name on the stone.
"To have a family come in after so many years and tell them that we have to redo this over again, nobody wants to do it in the first place," Heidi Geschke explained emotionally.Brothers Remembered Through Controversial Memorial
Timothy Geschke, 41, died on March 16, 2020, with his brother Ryan, 35, passing unexpectedly on October 5, 2021. The siblings were reportedly inseparable during their lives and now share this joint memorial.
"This was created with so much love and respect and loyalty to our brothers," Holly Geschke emphasised. "This is speaking to the character of not who they were, but who we are as a family."
Social media photographs of the deceased brothers show them repeatedly making the middle finger gesture toward cameras, including one image reproduced on the contested headstone.
Cemetery Management Cites Strict Regulations
Cemetery manager Cheryl Godbout defended the decision, pointing to explicit rules prohibiting headstones containing words or images considered "profane or offensive to the general public."
"Once I was made aware of it, then I had to do something," Godbout stated. "It would not have been right of me to know about it, knowing it violates our rules and to ignore our rules."
The cemetery has offered to remove the headstone and store it for the family, but the Geschke sisters have firmly rejected this compromise.
Family Refuses to Back Down in Memorial Dispute
"They're in a resting place and now here we are being asked to disturb their resting place. It's mind boggling," Holly Geschke expressed. "This is a symbol of love and Geschke blood through and through."
The family maintains that the gesture represents their brothers' personalities and their family bond, rather than being intended as offensive.
Remembering the Geschke Brothers
Friends and family have shared warm memories of both brothers. One friend recalled Timothy as someone who "lived hard and played hard... but at his core, Tim was always a really good guy." Another remembered his "big smile and positive outlook" on life.
Ryan Geschke is survived by his wife Stephanie and brother Jeremy, who served as one of his pallbearers. The family's determination to preserve the controversial headstone reflects their commitment to memorialising the brothers as they genuinely were, rather than according to conventional expectations.
This case highlights the tension between personal expression in memorialisation and institutional regulations governing cemetery decorum, with the Geschke family vowing to continue their fight to keep the headstone in place.
