In the time that it took us to verify where she was buried, it's hard to describe the anguish we went through thinking that she could have been disinterred. While the logical engineer/consultant in me knew that my grandmother's soul had long since departed her body, the idea that her remains could have been abused was deeply disturbing to me and to the rest of my family. I can't imagine the anguish that other family members went through, especially those whose loved ones remains were actually abused.
Other controversies and scandals besides Burr Oak have come to light including:
- Tri-State Crematorium, where a large crematorium in Georgia responsible for three states' cremation services, instead dumped remains into sheds and pits on it's premises, and gave relatives wood burnings and concrete dust instead of their loved ones' remains.
- Biomedical Tissue Services Scandal, which was discovered in part because of the abuse and mis-use of the remains of Alistair Cooke.
- Arlington National Cemetery Scandal, where remains were mis-placed, urns were dumped, and veterans' remains were sent to landfills instead of properly buried.
- Cook County Morgue Scandal (Illinois), where bodies were improperly stored in the morgue and their locations were not disclosed to family searching for them.
These are just a few of the more recent scandals in the industry, and I've realized over the years that this is an industry that, because of a number of factors, is open to widespread abuses. While this is not to say that the majority or even a large percentage of Death Care businesses engage in malicious practices, many facets and practices of the industry open it up to potential abuses.
