Taphophilia.(dot) Com - Families reeling after burial mistake

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Families reeling after burial mistake

Written by DeadGirl
Saturday, 25 February 2006
Two families are devastated after a funeral home allegedly buried the wrong person in the wrong burial plot. Family members say the mix-up happened at Spry Funeral Home in Huntsville. We're told one family came in for their loved one's visitation Friday night and discovered it was not their family member in the parlor. The legal council for one of the families involved tells WAFF 48 News visitation for Jettie Mae Gurley was scheduled for last night. But, she was mistakenly buried in the plot reserved for Jewell Lucille Brawley. Huntsville Attorney Tommy Siniard is representing the Gurley family. "The Gurley family was adamant when the coffin was open that this was not their mother and did not look like their mother," says Siniard. Two visitations scheduled on the same day, only hours apart. "They surmise that it was a misidentification that both ladies,....huh, they won't tell us how except that the ladies both had their hair done and they apparently got switched," explains Siniard. Hair, physical descriptions, even a distinctive ring: characteristics Tommy Siniard says should have helped Spry Funeral home attendants in Huntsville identify the two women. "Their mother was dominative, under 5 feet tall, this lady was apparently more than." Siniard continues, "They put the clothes of Mrs. Gurley on Mrs. Brawley and the clothes of Mrs. Brawley onto Mrs. Gurley." With the cooperation 87 year old Jewell Brawley's family by Saturday afternoon the Gurley's were standing in front of a plot that wasn't theirs. A bereaved family exhuming what's believed to be their mother's remains. They later made more arrangements to have her re-buried and hopefully finally laid to rest. "The legalities of exhumation of her body and funeral and trying to advise the friends what happens next....there was a whole host of friends who there for a funeral that didn't happen ," says Siniard. Mrs. Gurley's body was taken to Berryhill Funeral Home early Saturday evening. Siniard called WAFF 48 News to tell us the family positively identified the body in that casket as Mrs. Gurley. We're also told Berryhill will be handling the re-scheduled services. Visitation for Jettie Mae Gurley is scheduled for Monday at 1 PM at Shipps Baptist Church on Little Cove Road in Madison County. Funeral services are scheduled for 2 PM also at the church. WAFF 48 News has also spoken with members of the Brawley family. At this time they do not want to appear on camera. They tell WAFF 48 News they feel this is an unfortunate accident. No word tonight on services for Mrs. Brawley. Our newsroom phones and e-mail have been covered up with people in shock about this story. Many of you, friends of the Gurley or Brawley families. While Spry management declined our request for a statement, people across the valley are talking. "If I had someone buried or fixed to be buried in a funeral home, I'd expect them to know who was who," says Charles Cornelison. "Not only did they lose their loved one but the shock of the funeral itself on top of that," adds Junior Rhodes. http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=4366113

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Taphophilia?

taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)

ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"

DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries