Story

Hello
My name is Michael Thomas.
My mom passed away October 12 2022 suddenly in her sleep. Unbeknownst to myself my mother had let her life insurance lapse in coverage. There was in faced with having two fund the funeral out of pocket. My dad and I were able to secure the funds to have the funeral and lay her to rest. As for getting the headstone I had to reach out to a family member to borrow the money to pay for the headstone after a year because no matter how much I tried I could not save enough money to purchase the it. I used a business here in Jackson Tennessee called timeless monuments. We met with the guy picked out the headstone filled out a contract and the information we wanted on the headstone. We had to pay half up front and the other half when it was complete. During the process we decided to add a place for a picture of my parents in the center which added an additional $535.00 bring the total up to $2,524.25. this amount was paid in full and I was given a estimated time it would take to finish the headstone. The start date was 2/14/24 . I was finally given a date or approximate time it would be set before Thanksgiving of 2024. That was the last time we heard from this person. The business has since closed up and there has been no contact with him nor do I know how to find him. I’ve spoken with attorneys as well as filed a complaint with this state attorney general’s office but I do not have the money to hire the lawyer to fight for something that I may just get judgment and have to wait years for the money. In searching for this person I have encountered four other individuals that also were taking advantage of like we were and using Facebook and Google reviews I found out there are a whole lot of other people in the same boat as we are with this company.
My dad is 83 he’s currently undercare with the Kirkland Cancer center. He is told me numerous times that he wants nothing more than to see the headstone set before something happens to him.
Now one would think I could possibly take out a loan or something along those lines but as of this moment I’ve been off work from a non-work-related injury since September 23rd of 2024. I am scheduled to start receiving long-term disability through my insurance”luckily I took out that option” but as of this moment I have not received any pay since the Friday before Christmas of 2024. Needless to say my credit has taken a very hard hit. This not being about me, I am surviving but I’m not thriving. I had thoughts of just resigning from my current job so I could take out my 401K and pay for the headstone but then I would have to start all over at a new job, I already have my time in here and I’m a skilled employee. Doing something like this is totally out of my comfort zone I have never had to ask anyone for anything never was wealthy but I was living like most people in the world. Having to attempt something like this does take a toll on my pride to be completely honest.
My family member is aware of the situation and agrees is probably nothing we can really do about taking that business to court if that person can’t be found Plus we probably would not receive the money given the fact we are not the only ones he has defrauded.
It bothers me daily that I know my father experiences the stress of not having my mother’s headstone down as well as it bothers me I think about it very often. One of the last things I had to do for her was to make sure that she was remembered with a memorial headstone, for the record I didn’t just go to a fly by night type of business this business had been open for around 10 years locally here. I viewed it as a creditable business, The guy was very professional had a lot of things to look at is books and signed a contract. Perhaps he was running the long con and just decided one day to disappear.
Nevertheless again it troubles me to have to go and ask for donations to procure a headstone for my parents but at this juncture I have no other ideas as to what to do. Again not being about me but because of my “non-job related injury” My short-term disability paid $200 a week and in this economy you could only imagine what type of impact it had. Luckily most of my bills were covered because I also had the insurance on those bills The only thing I had to worry about was I rent I do not own a home and I have a vehicle payment each month. Being a country boy in Tennessee like a lot of country boys I had firearms and hunting things that I sold just to make ends meet The only firearms I kept are once it belong to my grandfather and great grandfather anything I purchased I’ve already sold. After riding that I just realized I have very little financial assets at this point, something I must work toward after I get over this bump in the road I’m in now.
I researched a lot of these type of donation pages in places like that and I’m not looking for thousands of dollars, it was suggested when my mother passed to do a GoFund me or something along those lines but again I did not want to ask people for something I truly should have made sure was taken care of myself. The amount if any donations are made it’s just enough to cover a headstone. This one was $2,524.25 My price to other places and they were much higher than this, that itself drew me more towards this business, after pricing headstones the low cost this person gave me should have probably maybe been a red flag. His story was he only really makes money for sitting the headstones because another company handles everything else I’m not sure how all that works I’m a factory worker. I’m thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,000 should be enough to get the headstone. It’s very least it should be a large part of it and in the time frame it takes to have one made God willing I will be back to work and can cover the rest.

I’m not sure if anyone sees these things or if anyone will see this particular one but any event you have read this.
My dad and I truly appreciate any donation and prayers given.

Thank you for your time
Michael & Robert Thomas