A New York funeral home set up a service that pleased the family of the deceased. Their mother, who had died of cancer at age 81, was dressed in one of her favorite dresses and seemed at peace after a long struggle with the disease. But something seemed off about her appearance, the family wrote it off to the ravages of cancer and the embalming process even though one sharp eyed 10 year old did ask if that really was grandma. Six days passed and the mourning process continued until a single phone call shook everyone’s world, the corpse on display was not their mother at all. Instead a stranger had been substituted, and even cremated, and their mother was still at the funeral home. The family quietly chose to hold another ceremony, at a different home, and found themselves faced with questions ranging from how such a mistake was possible to how they let themselves not notice. Currently their are inquiries into if any laws were violated but the Division of Cemeteries has already exonerated the crematory citing rules prohibiting opening a coffin. No word on if a lawsuit will be filed by the family.
See Michael Wilson, After Funeral and Cremation, a Shock: The Woman in the Coffin Wasn’t Mom, The New York Times, March 21, 2016.
Special thanks to Lewis Saret for bringing this article to my attention.
