TAMPA — A local family grieving the loss of their grandmother faced another ordeal while trying to bury her at a pre-paid plot at Memorial Park Cemetery.

Johnnie Broner, 91, passed away on April 16, 2023.

Her granddaughter, Katrina Broner, says Memorial Park Cemetery was her chosen final resting place because Johnnie purchased several plots in the 1970’s.

“She’s been here for a while and then planning for our family for a while. There are plots for her brothers and sisters,” she said.

Katrina said funeral arrangements were stalled because the historically Black cemetery has a new owner.

The new owner is a real estate investor who purchased the property in a foreclosure auction and Bonner's family says they were told the company did not have a cemetery license and could not assume responsbility for the remains.

Funeral service providers also told the Broners that burials were not taking place without the new owner’s permission.

“There’s been a lot of back and forth about it. There’s been misinformation about it,” Katrina said.

Katrina and her family found themselves at the Hillsborough County Clerk of Courts to locate records of their grandmother’s purchase.

“There’s not so much here and maybe that’s the process of them digitizing things,” she said.

They turned up empty with the county, but the City of Tampa stepped in to help by sorting through and locating Broner’s records which they obtained when the previous owner of Memorial Park died.

“It's like all of these hoops are unnecessary. At the end of they day, we're all human, we want to bury our loved one in peace,” Katrina added.

A spokesperson for the City of Tampa said: “The investor who bought Memorial Park Cemetery needs to give this historic property the respect it deserves and the families who purchased plots for loved ones the respect they deserve too.”

“It’s a matter of letting third party businesses on grounds to perform services,” said Bounder Broner, Katrina's brother.

Broner says this could have been avoided.

“When I made contact with the Funeral Consumer Services they reassured me; he (owner) has every right to honor those existing arrangements,” said Bounder.

The family is concerned others may encounter the same issue.

“We know that other people are dealing with this,” said Bounder.

“I am definitely concerned because this site is 100 and something years old. This is not the only empty plot,” said Katrina.

The family says the new owner has since contacted the funeral home to grant permission for services.

Meanwhile, the city says they are still waiting on an independent appraisal of the property in order to move forward with purchasing Memorial Park Cemetery.