It seems Florida has a problem with people's remains being sold at garage sales. Earlier this week, an authentic human skeleton was sold for $8 as a Halloween decoration. Now it appears that the ashes of a 99-year-old grandmother were accidentally sold in Ft. Walton Beach.
Piper Gaffrey's grandmother, Marjorie Potts Gaffrey, died in February, and the family had her cremated. Piper couldn't quite say goodbye to Grandma Marge, and kept some of her ashes in a potted violet. The rest were entombed traditionally, but Grandma Marge had always kept a violet on her window sill, so it seemed a fitting way to keep her memory alive.
"I know it's illegal, but I wanted to keep her. It was hard to let go of her. Still is," Gaffrey told The Northwest Florida Daily News. "I am everything I am today because of her."
Piper went out of town this weekend and left her husband to run a garage sale.
Hubby apparently went a little garage sale happy. Not only did he sell off one of his wife's pearl necklaces, but he also sold off the violet. Piper couldn't deal with asking how much her grandmother's remains were actually sold for.
Not sure what to do, Piper updated her Facebook status.
"Dear Garage Sale People.........who ever got the violet....that was my grandma....she meant the world to me...whoever got her....please take care of her! She lived to be 99 and made the world a better place.......Love you Marge! I miss you, you will always be apart of me!"Luckily, the buyer got word of the mistake, and returned the plant, ashes and all.
[NWFlorida: 'Dear garage sale people...that was my grandma' ]