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Family wants odor problem in vault solved PDF Print E-mail
Written by DeadGirl   
Tuesday, 04 July 2006
Who should pay for fix at mausoleum in dispute

By Marilyn Miller
Beacon Journal staff writer

A few days ago, Suzanne Mihal noticed an unpleasant smell when she went to visit the mausoleum where her brother is interred at East Akron Cemetery. Then she discovered the unthinkable.
``I started sniffing all the vaults, and the smell was coming from my brother's vault,'' she said. ``I even checked the dead flowers nearby, but they smelled good compared to what I was smelling.''

Mihal's brother, Joseph, was interred in the cemetery on East Market Street about two years ago. At age 41, he was found dead in his home.

When Suzanne Mihal contacted the cemetery superintendent, he agreed that the smell was coming from her brother's vault.

``Oh yeah, there's a problem there,'' said George Tweed.

But there's no agreement on how to solve the problem and who's responsible for the cost.

Tweed has been superintendent at the East Akron Cemetery & Mausoleum Co. for three years.

``He's the first burial I ever put in the mausoleum,'' Tweed said of Joseph Mihal. ``We put him in and closed him up. It's sealed in two places.''

Tweed said it has been his experience that if a coffin smells, the coffin should be placed in a deodorizing bag and some deodorizer also be placed in the coffin.

And, pointing to the front of the one-story mausoleum, where there are vents at the top and the bottom, he said there may be a problem with the ventilation in the building.

The mausoleum was built in 1913. It has 504 vaults and is nearly filled to capacity.

``I have to get a ladder to check the roof for ventilation and the back of the building,'' Tweed said. ``We don't have a ladder high enough.''

The East Akron Cemetery is run by a five-person board of trustees, though one member recently resigned because of poor health.

Tweed, who's also a board member, runs the cemetery in exchange for a place to stay -- a small home on the property. He handles all the office work, takes care of funeral and burial arrangements, and oversees the one paid employee who works in the yard.

The cemetery is funded by burials and the selling of plots. Most of the money for operations is in a trust fund that yields only 2 or 3 percent interest.

In recent years, the cemetery has had to deal with a number of financial problems, including owing back city taxes.

Suzanne Mihal, who lives in Akron, said she believes that after two years her brother's body has fully decomposed. She suspects an animal may have gotten into the vault and died there.

``I want them to reopen the casket and see what's causing the problem,'' she said, ``but not to disturb my brother's remains.''

Tweed said the decision to correct the problem is up to the family.

``We cannot make that decision,'' he said.

But Mihal said the family doesn't think they should bear the cost of doing that.

``The cemetery wants my mom to pay $250 for opening and closing the casket and another $300 to place my brother in a deodorized bag,'' she said. ``We think it's their responsibility.''

Last winter, Mihal's mother, Helen Kuhns, paid to repair a broken skylight after the family discovered debris coming through the mausoleum roof.

``I received a nice letter from Mr. Tweed, thanking me,'' Kuhns said. ``But now I'm at my wit's end. I don't want my son to lay in stink. I'm still trying to deal with his death.''

On Tuesday, another of Joseph Mihal's sisters, Linda McFall of Cuyahoga Falls, called the State Board of Embalming & Funeral Directors. The agency is investigating the situation.

The family also called Dunn-Quigley-Ciriello & Carr funeral homes, which serviced the burial. Owner Nick Ciriello assured them he would go to the cemetery, open the crypt and analyze the situation.

``I suspect that the air vent is clogged, but I don't know that for sure,'' Ciriello said. ``I have to go out and check. I will take care of it whether it's my responsibility or not, because they have been very loyal customers.''

McFall said the family doesn't care whose fault the problem is. They just want it corrected.

``If it was someone in your family, you would complain, too,'' she said. ``It's not right.''

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/14927828.htm
 
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