BLACKSBURG, VA – A major change at Virginia Tech is raising questions as the university plans to relocate the remains of 61 people from its columbarium to another location on campus to make room for new development.
But one local family says they were left with more questions than answers - and they’re now pushing back.
“Derek was the biggest Hokie I’ve ever known,” Derek Emmerson’s brother Bryan said.
For Bryan Emmerson, there was never a question where his brother Derek belonged.
Derek earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Virginia Tech, later returning to Blacksburg as an associate professor.
“He always says his best memories were those years where he was at Virginia Tech, so when I think of a Virginia Tech Hokie, I think of Derek,” Bryan said.
So, when Derek died of pancreatic cancer in 2017, his family chose to lay him to rest at Virginia Tech’s columbarium at the Holtzman Alumni Center.
“There was this peace that came into the room at the worst time of our lives, literally looking at Derek across the room, because we had a plan,” Bryan said.
Now, nearly a decade later, Bryan is fighting to keep his brother’s memory in the place he loved.
Bryan and his sister also purchased spaces in the columbarium, but in March, Bryan’s brother-in-law received an email saying it was being moved - later learning the relocation was to make way for new dorms.
“I look at it, and it says, ‘We are moving the columbarium, we want to do this respectfully,’” Bryan said.
The form given to families offered three options: move their loved ones to the new site, retrieve the remains, or request a refund.
Bryan says there was no option to keep Derek where he was.
He also points to a clause on the form stating that by signing, families were consenting to the relocation of their loved ones’ remains.
“It’s like slipping in consent after the fact of telling somebody, you’re gonna do it, and these are your choices,” he said.
Derek’s wife, Kathy, initially returned the form unsigned - worried the university could one day move the columbarium again. Virginia Tech provided her with an updated contract, but Bryan tells 10 News it did not provide her with a guarantee.
“‘What if they do this again, and what if my kids have to bury their dad a third time?’ And she’s asked that question of them directly,” Bryan said.
The university plans to move the columbarium from the alumni center to Southgate Drive, near the baseball stadium - where Bryan says he and others worry about safety, traffic and noise.
“There’s traffic, there’s a scoreboard, it’s not the duckpond view,” he said.
Bryan showed us the contract he signed in 2017, which states the niches would be located at the Alumni Association, in view of the duck pond.
He then started filing Freedom of Information Act requests with Virginia Tech.
Bryan says documents he received show the project is moving quickly - with site work for the new residence halls set to begin June 8th.
Families were told they must pick up remains by June 4th if they plan to remove them.
“This is time sensitive; we need to get this done, we need 1200 beds,” Bryan said.
While Derek’s wife has decided to retrieve his remains, Bryan is still fighting.
He filed a request for a temporary restraining order, hoping to stop any removal until a judge can rule.
“I know my brother is at peace. He was a man of faith, I know where he is, but I’ve realized ‘Rest in Peace’ is at least 50% for those of us on the other side,” Bryan said.
10 News has made attempts to speak with someone from Virginia Tech. We were told they were working on our request, but we have not heard back. We will continue to reach out.
You can view the presentation made at the April 13 Board of Visitors’ meeting regarding the relocation here.