Pausing to reflect at Evergreen Funeral Home and Memorial Park

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- Pausing to reflect by tombstones is heartbreaking for families who buried loved ones at Evergreen Funeral Home and Memorial Park.

"I have so much family there. My daughter, my son, my mother, my aunt my father," said Katherine Williamson.

Williamson is upset about her loss and also outraged after finding out funeral directors wanted to hold a special event there.

"I didn't know who came up with the idea and what were they thinking," said Williamson.

Daniel Apodaca who works at the cemetery had plans to invite the public to watch the Tim Burton cult classic Beetlejuice at the cemetery next week.

"We would rope off the rest of the area to keep people off the graves themselves," said Apodaca. "Everyone goes out there and has a picnic. There is no disrespect whatsoever."

Apodaca told us he got the idea from a similar event held at a Southern California graveyard.

"A friend of mine actually sat next to Alfred Hitchcock's grave while watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers and to him that was a really great experience," said Apodaca.

The memorial park has had a troubled past including being shut down and foreclosed after a former director was accused of selling already occupied burial plots. Apodaca said by inviting people to watch the movie, he wanted them to see all the improvements new management made. Instead, he's dealing with backlash.

The cemetery's owners cancelled the movie screening earlier this week because of the public pushback.