The family and friends of a Florida hairdresser who died unexpectedly last week were shocked again when they learned that he had been cremated before his last visit.
Kevin Witherspoon’s family said 7 Miami News paid Corey-Kerlin Funeral Homes and Crematory $2,000 for a final viewing of a man described as “father, hairdresser and prankster.”
His brother, Frank Chapman, said when he went to the Jacksonville, Florida, funeral home to drop off clothes the day before Witherspoon’s service, he was told everything was fine. But then he got a call saying his brother had been “accidentally” cremated before the funeral.
According to Chapman, when her mother died, Corey-Kerlin “took good care” of her. Now, he wants the funeral home to take responsibility for the mistake and “be more careful” with the way he does business.
Witherspoon’s brother-in-law, Ronald Jackson, said the hardest part was being denied closure by not being able to “sit there and look at it” and see his brother-in-law with his “two eyes”.
Corey-Kerlin website he boasts that, unlike most Jacksonville funeral homes, his 58-year-old business has its “own independent crematorium, resulting in lower costs and faster service.”
The funeral home, which has two locations and no listing with the Better Business Bureau, has not returned a request for comment.
