BuffyMars
05-16-2008, 01:56 PM
THE body of an elderly woman was buried in another woman's grave after a mortuary mistake.
The burial blunder was discovered last week when the family of Mary Jane Janet Ryan, 85, requested a final viewing of their cherished matriarch the day before her funeral in Frankston, in Victoria.
Bereaved relatives lifted the coffin lid to discover another woman lying in their mother's clothes and jewellery.
Their anguish deepened when they found their mother was wrongly buried as the other woman earlier that day at Crib Point cemetery.
Council gravediggers were called in to exhume her body.
Mrs Ryan's son, Michael, said the mix-up was a double blow for the grieving Bangholme family totalling 69 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
"It was horrifying to find another woman in the coffin when we opened it," he said.
"I was offended and it must have been awful for the other woman's family too."
The funeral was arranged by funeral directors Edward (Ted) Bull, whose website promises "pre-arranged funerals, cremations and burials with no nasty surprises".
The family-run company was responsible for a similar case of mistaken identity in 2001.
On that occasion, Ted Bull's son, Chris, mixed up two coffin lids and sent the wrong bodies to two different funerals in South Dandenong, with one man due to be cremated an hour after the other's burial.
The bungle was discovered when the son of one of the dead men discovered someone else in his father's coffin at the viewing.
The other funeral was disrupted while cemetery staff lifted the lid of the coffin already in the grave to confirm it contained the wrong body.
Mrs Ryan was eventually given a fitting farewell at St John's Catholic Church in Frankston, and was then interred at Frankston Cemetery.
"The coffin was swapped back and she had a beautiful service and funeral," Mr Ryan said.
He would not comment on whether the family planned legal action, but hinted that Ted Bull had waived the fees.
"They said their piece to the family," Mr Ryan said.
"Cancelling the fees would go some way in the right direction."
Australian Funeral Directors Association president Wes Heritage said the industry needed to be regulated.
Edward Bull Funeral Services is not an AFDA member.
Mr Heritage said he was aware of the company and he felt for the families who endured the ordeal.
"My feelings go absolutely out to the family," he said.
"It would be the worst experience for that family to go through. Not only have they lost a loved one but they have to put up with this kind of bungling."
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23707192-2,00.html
The burial blunder was discovered last week when the family of Mary Jane Janet Ryan, 85, requested a final viewing of their cherished matriarch the day before her funeral in Frankston, in Victoria.
Bereaved relatives lifted the coffin lid to discover another woman lying in their mother's clothes and jewellery.
Their anguish deepened when they found their mother was wrongly buried as the other woman earlier that day at Crib Point cemetery.
Council gravediggers were called in to exhume her body.
Mrs Ryan's son, Michael, said the mix-up was a double blow for the grieving Bangholme family totalling 69 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
"It was horrifying to find another woman in the coffin when we opened it," he said.
"I was offended and it must have been awful for the other woman's family too."
The funeral was arranged by funeral directors Edward (Ted) Bull, whose website promises "pre-arranged funerals, cremations and burials with no nasty surprises".
The family-run company was responsible for a similar case of mistaken identity in 2001.
On that occasion, Ted Bull's son, Chris, mixed up two coffin lids and sent the wrong bodies to two different funerals in South Dandenong, with one man due to be cremated an hour after the other's burial.
The bungle was discovered when the son of one of the dead men discovered someone else in his father's coffin at the viewing.
The other funeral was disrupted while cemetery staff lifted the lid of the coffin already in the grave to confirm it contained the wrong body.
Mrs Ryan was eventually given a fitting farewell at St John's Catholic Church in Frankston, and was then interred at Frankston Cemetery.
"The coffin was swapped back and she had a beautiful service and funeral," Mr Ryan said.
He would not comment on whether the family planned legal action, but hinted that Ted Bull had waived the fees.
"They said their piece to the family," Mr Ryan said.
"Cancelling the fees would go some way in the right direction."
Australian Funeral Directors Association president Wes Heritage said the industry needed to be regulated.
Edward Bull Funeral Services is not an AFDA member.
Mr Heritage said he was aware of the company and he felt for the families who endured the ordeal.
"My feelings go absolutely out to the family," he said.
"It would be the worst experience for that family to go through. Not only have they lost a loved one but they have to put up with this kind of bungling."
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23707192-2,00.html