Colorado Family Fights to Keep Loved One's Headstone

Evergreen Cemetery claims the gravestone's imagery is offensive and must be removed.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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The Geschke family buried their two brothers in Colorado Springs' Evergreen Cemetery, placing a headstone with photos of the deceased. However, the cemetery has since covered up one of the photos, which shows one of the brothers holding up middle fingers, claiming it is offensive and violates their rules.

Why it matters

This case highlights the tension between a family's desire to memorialize their loved ones in a personal way and a cemetery's policies around what is considered appropriate or offensive imagery on gravestones. It raises questions about the extent to which cemeteries can dictate the content of private memorials.

The details

The Geschke brothers, Timothy Alan and Ryan James, passed away in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Their family placed a headstone at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs featuring numerous photos of the brothers. Recently, the family discovered that the cemetery had placed black tape over one of the photos, which showed one of the brothers holding up middle fingers. The cemetery claims this imagery violates their policy prohibiting 'words or images...that would be considered profane or offensive to the general public' and has demanded the family remove the photo.

  • The Geschke brothers were buried in Evergreen Cemetery close to five years ago.
  • The family recently discovered the cemetery had covered up one of the photos on the headstone.

The players

Geschke family

The family of Timothy Alan and Ryan James Geschke, who are buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.

Evergreen Cemetery

The Colorado Springs cemetery where the Geschke brothers are buried, which has deemed one of the photos on their headstone to be offensive and in violation of their policies.

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What’s next

The Geschke family is fighting Evergreen Cemetery's decision to censor the headstone, citing the difficulty of going through the process of getting a headstone in the first place.

The takeaway

This case highlights the ongoing debate around the balance between a family's right to memorialize their loved ones as they see fit and a cemetery's policies on what is considered appropriate imagery. It raises questions about the extent to which cemeteries should be able to dictate the content of private memorials.