Pastor apologizes for removing grave marker of 5-year-old over financial dispute

A pastor who owns a monument company in North Carolina has apologized for removing the grave marker of a 5-year-old boy over a financial dispute with the parents.

J.C. Shoaf, who owns Southeastern Monument Company, repossessed the grave marker of Jake Leatherman, who lost his battle with leukemia last year, alleging that the family had failed to pay the money they owed.

The boy's parents, Wayne and Crystal Leatherman, said that they were stunned to learn that their sons' grave marker had been removed. "He repossessed it, like it was a car. This is my lowest point," Crystal told WBTV.

Shoaf, who has been a minister for 50 years, noted that the monument at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Hickory was removed by the cemetery last week after a month-long dispute, but he is now having second thoughts about the decision. He admitted on Tuesday that removing the grave marker was a mistake and asked the family for forgiveness.

"It has hurt everybody involved, and we hope they have it in their heart to forgive us for it. Our prayers are with the family, and we hope we can be friends down the road," he said, according to Daily Mail.

He noted that he had been in the business for 56 years, but it had been the first time that a grave marker had been repossessed. He said that he previously allowed the marker to be placed at the grave without full payment, out of sympathy for the grieving family.

Shoaf explained that the grave marker had initially been paid in full, but Crystal later came into his office and requested more than a dozen changes that amounted to $2,500 in additional costs.

"I told (Wayne) I would take it up if they didn't pay. I was told: 'Go ahead.' They probably owe less than $1,000 on it," the minister recounted.

He noted in a statement released on Tuesday that his company will "waive all expenses from the Leatherman family."

The couple claimed that they did not know about the additional costs, and said that they would have paid if they had known.

"If I would have owed him the money I would have paid him. This is not something you argue over," Crystal remarked.

They have hired a lawyer and are now considering another monument company to place a permanent fixture at their son's grave.

Jake, who had battled juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia since he was three years old, made national headlines in November when dozens of NASCAR drivers, crew and other personnel attended his funeral.

Matt DiBenedetto, a driver who's hometown is Hickory, showed up at the funeral with his teammate Ryan Ellis in their racing uniforms.

While Jake never got a chance to see a NASCAR race, he was a devoted fan of the sport and idolized NASCAR star, Richard Petty.