My Father passed away at the beginning of November, and his funeral was not held until this week. The Funeral home keep our Father stored in another home out of area, as their establishment was under refurbishments. He was too far away to for my mum to travel to. The Refurb was not completed until the day before the funeral, so my Mother did not see Dad until then.
As can you can imagine, the level of decay that we was allowed to see Dad in was not nice, to the point I personally think the public should not be allowed to view loved ones at that stage. I don’t mean to be gross, but I was not prepared to see tissue breakdown and mold on my father.
The strange thing is that, they had a second home local to my mother but whatever reason they didn’t send my father there. I just wish they did, so Dad was treated with more dignity and visited sooner, and my mothers last memories of her husband wouldn’t be like this.
I would appreciate any advice, am I right to think about complaining? I don’t know code of conduct for situations like this.
Jennifer Lane
You most definitely have a right to complain – I have never heard of a funeral home “holding” a deceased for the reason of remodeling, and then to not properly use refrigeration to keep your father in better condition. Above all, this was a delay in having your father’s funeral that you did not ask for, and that is totally unacceptable. I’m not sure where you live (whether in the US or elsewhere) but I would file a complaint with the funeral home and it’s governing institution. A situation like the one that you describe should never happen, and I am very sorry this happened to your family.