CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — The gravesite of late boxing champion Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker and his son, Pete Jr., at Roosevelt Memorial Park in Chesapeake is overgrown with weeds, causing distress for his family.
Cemetery management has responded to the family’s calls for action by implementing a new landscaping plan to address the neglected grounds.
Pernell ” Sweet Pea” Whitaker, a renowned lightweight boxer from Young Park in Norfolk, earned an Olympic gold medal and achieved professional fame. He died in July 2019 at age 55 after being struck by a car. Over the years, trouble followed the greatest lightweight boxer of all time.
His resting place, located alongside his son Pete Jr.’s at Roosevelt Memorial Park, is currently obscured by weeds, making it difficult to read their names and to sit on a memorial bench. This condition has caused emotional distress for his widow, Rovonda Whitaker and Pete’s best friend, Aaron Johnson…