QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) — A Queens family is demanding answers after they say a funeral home mistakenly cremated their 93-year-old mother despite her documented wish to be buried.
The family of Euvy Rodney, who died on July 8, says they arranged for her burial through J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home in St. Albans.
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Instead, they believe her body was cremated and a box of ashes was returned to them.
“We have lost our mom twice,” daughter Christine Weever said. “We have lost her in death, and we have lost her body.”
The family gathered outside the funeral home on Linden Boulevard as they prepared for a memorial service at the end of this week.
Relatives said Rodney’s final wish was to be buried in Guyana, where she was born. They provided a death certificate that appeared to show burial was the next step, as a box for cremation was not checked.
“Our mother was so much more than this tragedy,” said daughter Ramona Rodney Park. The emotional toll became evident as Rodney’s youngest daughter broke down while speaking with reporters.
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The Rev. Kevin McCall, who is supporting the family, said Rodney’s wishes were clearly documented.
“It says clearly burial in Guyana,” McCall said. “They knew it was not supposed to be cremation.”
J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home, founded in 1929, declined to comment when asked about the family’s allegations. According to New York State, the business is a licensed funeral home.
The family’s attorneys are calling for a state investigation and say they are preparing their own. They also plan to follow up with the crematory.
The family says it had a follow-up meeting with the funeral home but has not had further communication.
Attorney John Elefterakis said one of Rodney’s daughters asked a question he could not answer:
“How do we know if the ashes are even my mother’s?” Elefterakis said. “I can’t comfort her with an answer to that question.”
In 2017, the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Funeral Directing encouraged all funeral homes, hospitals and crematories in the state to review policies and procedures for handling and properly identifying human remains.
“Human remains mix-ups occur infrequently, but are highly emotional for all involved when they occur, often triggering litigation,” the state wrote after some reports in 2017 in New York.
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