A distraught family have been ordered to remove a headstone because it features inappropriate gestures.
Brothers Timothy and Ryan Geschke were laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs after dying in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
The siblings were inseparable before they died, and they now share a headstone adorned with pictures of them and their family.
The headstone also features three images of middle fingers.
Heidi and Holly Geschke said they were shocked to find black tape covering the ‘offensive’ gestures when they visited their brothers’ grave at the cemetery.
They said the cemetery also told them that the headstone must be taken down, according to KOAA.
Pictures of the memorial show showed that it includes an image of two large middle fingers to each side of the Geschke family name.
‘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 said.
Brothers Timothy and Ryan Geschke were laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs after dying in 2020 and 2021 respectively
Tim (right), 41, died on March 16, 2020. His brother Ryan (left) passed away the following year on October 5, 2021
‘This was created with so much love and respect and loyalty to our brothers,’ Holly added.
‘This is speaking to the character of not who they were, but who we are as a family.’
Cemetery manager Cheryl Godbout said the cemetery’s rules prohibit headstones that include 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 said.
‘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 keep it in storage for the family.
However the Geschke sisters are refusing to back down.
‘They’re in a resting place and now here we are being asked to disturb their resting place. It’s mind boggling,’ Holly said.
‘This is a symbol of love and Geschke blood through and through.’
Photos on social media of the deceased brothers showed them repeatedly flipping the bird to the camera – including one used on the headstone.
Heidi and Holly Geschke said they would not be removing the headstone
This photo of the brothers was also featured on the headstone. The cemetery’s rules do not allow headstones with words or images that are ‘profane or offensive to the general public’
Ryan, 35, died on October 5, 2021. His death happened ‘unexpectedly.’
He was listed as having a wife, Stephanie, and another brother Jeremy – who acted as one of his pallbearers.
Tim died on March 16, 2020. He was remembered warmly by friends.
‘Tim lived hard and played hard… but at his core, Tim was always a really good guy,’ one wrote. ‘One of the few!’
Another recalled how he was known for his ‘big smile and positive outlook’ on life.
‘Timmy you were always one who could turn every head in a room,’ he wrote. ‘Always one to point out the best in those around you.’
