- New York state officials are investigating McCalls funeral home for mistakenly cremating a woman
- Most of the family members noticed some difference in the woman at the casket but only two insisted that it was not their grandmother
- McCall’s manager has not issued any comment yet but agreed to reimburse the family’s funeral expenses
A funeral home in New York is being investigated after a wrong woman was put in a casket for viewing and cremation.
New York state officials said an investigation is underway on the McCall’s Bronxwood funeral home for cremating a wrong person. Both the Division of Cemeteries and the Bureau of Funeral Directing are investigating and conducting a review on the matter.
In a KSL News article by the Associated Press, the 81-year-old Val-Jean McDonald viewed in the casket was noticed to be different from what her relatives remember.
However, the family just dismissed the difference thinking it was because of cancer since McDonald died from the illness. Errol McDonald, son of the deceased, even noticed that all of her hair was cut but thought it was because of it.
Richard Mcdonald, another son, said that all of them did notice something but dismissed it eventually. Darryl McDonald, the third son of the deceased, said that there is no chance that someone would think that she was not their mother since they were in the funeral parlor.
However, two of McDonald’s grandchildren were convinced that the woman in the casket is not their grandmother. Errol McDonald’s 10-year-old son insisted the woman is not their grandmother. But eventually, the deceased was cremated at Woodlawn Cemetery.
It was only when the family received a call from the manager of McCall’s Bronxwood Funeral Home that they discovered that the old woman’s grandchildren were right all along. In an article by Michael Wilson at the New York Times, the manager told another son of the deceased, Rev. Richard McDonald, that their mother is still at the funeral homes and the woman in the coffin and cremated was not Val-Jean McDonald.
A picture sent to them confirmed that the woman still at the funeral parlor was their mother. Darryl went to the funeral parlor and confirmed that she was still there. The funeral home, on the other hand, said they have only realized their mistake after finding the other woman.
Several of the McDonald brothers recognized that it was possible that the woman looked almost like their mother due to the embalming process and her time on respirator in a hospital. The brothers added that despite the mistake, they all saw what they wanted to see – their mother.
James Alston, the owner of the funeral parlor did not have any comments on the matter aside from reiterating the funeral parlor’s 50 years of care, compassion, professionalism and quality of work. He added that the McDonald’s funeral expenses will be reimbursed while the family of the cremated woman was not charged for the cremation.
Funeral homes in the Philippines should not be like this.
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