Greenwood Cemetery is back in the spotlight this week after two men with family members buried at the southwest Atlanta cemetery are suing the property owners over improper maintenance and licensure.
In a civil lawsuit filed on Feb. 17, Michael G. Lambros and John Ioannides charge that Greenwood is violating the Georgia Cemetery and Funeral Services Act, overseen by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, by “intentionally refusing to properly maintain the cemetery grounds and buildings.”
Nine of Lambros’ family members are buried in the Greek section of Greenwood, including his youngest son, his mother, and both sets of grandparents. His grandparents immigrated from Crete and Kalamata in Greece, and his grandfather, George, served in the Army during World War I, receiving a Purple Heart for being wounded during combat.
“My wife and I would frequent [Greenwood], but after our youngest child passed away, we’re out there more frequently. It just kept getting worse,” Lambros said. “The cemetery never got better. So I had told them through the years, ‘Let’s get something done, or I’m going to have to take action,’ and it’s just the last straw. I gave [Greenwood owner F. Coll Bowen III] over a year and a half to do something, and nothing was done at all.”
An Atlanta attorney, Lambros has been asking Greenwood since 2024 to repair the roads and trim overgrown weeds and grass around the upright tombstones and flat grave markers.
Lambros’ friend, John Iaonnides, with whom he grew up in Morningside’s tight-knit Greek community, described Roimulus “Roy” Iaonnides, John’s dad, as a second father. He explained that after Roy’s burial, the cemetery did not pack the dirt, which is necessary during the settling of the plot.
“They don’t do what they’re supposed to do at the cemetery,” Lambros said.
Lambros and his wife have used their own money to lay sod and pinestraw to prevent the Georgia clay from splashing onto the headstones of their family plots.
“We’re not looking for money. We’re looking for the cemetery to be properly maintained and the money to be put back into the cemetery,” Lambros said. “I don’t know what their finances are. Really doesn’t matter to me. They’re supposed to maintain the cemetery, and they’re not.”
Greenwood is registered as a perpetual care cemetery, meaning a portion of each plot sale is added to a trust fund and used to restore and maintain the property in perpetuity. According to the state of Georgia, a perpetual care cemetery must maintain records on the sale of each plot. The lawsuit states that Greenwood is “illegally operating a perpetual care cemetery and is not properly registered with the Georgia Secretary of State to do so.”
In a 2024 conversation with Greenwood owner Bowen, Lambros was told the City of Atlanta was interested in taking over the property or hiring a company to manage or sell the property.
The city claimed to be meeting with stakeholders in 2025, yet Lambros was not aware of any meetings. Lambros is an active member of Annunciation Greek Orthodox church, regularly visits Greenwood, and was appointed special investigator over cemeteries by former Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox.
“The complaint alleges that this is a scheme. What they’re allowing to do is the grass to take over the flat markers so that they don’t have to maintain them. They don’t have to spend the extra money to go and have these markers trimmed around the base. They’re also letting them sink into the ground, and at some point, no one’s going to know they’re there,” Lambros said.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office said it “cannot comment on this lawsuit as we have an open administrative proceeding against this cemetery.” Greenwood’s attorney did not respond for comment.
A lawsuit filed by Ketrina Laster in November 2025 claims that Greenwood could not locate her daughter’s remains and grave site after being buried eight years prior. Greenwood “failed to maintain adequate records, failed to properly mark the grave site, failed to maintain proper systems and procedures, and/or otherwise negligently managed its cemetery operations, resulting in the loss of remains.”
Laster has suffered and continues to suffer severe emotional distress, mental anguish, grief, loss of peace of mind, anxiety, depression, and loss of the ability to visit and pay respects at her daughter’s known grave site, according to the lawsuit.
Related Story: Atlanta city officials explore taking over dilapidated Greenwood Cemetery
