HOLLY, Mich. (WXYZ) — For more than 30 years, 85-year-old Daisy Marshall believed her husband's ashes were safely contained in an urn at her home. Now she's not sure whose remains she's been keeping.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report:
"Where had those ashes been for all that time, and whose ashes did I have?" Marshall said.
The shocking discovery came in 2022 when Marshall was making her own prearrangements at Great Lakes National Cemetery. She wanted to be cremated and interred with her husband, Charles, an Air Force veteran. That's when cemetery staffers delivered devastating news.
"They told me that somebody, well, somebody was interred under my husband's ID already. And the ashes had been delivered there in December of 2018," Marshall said.
Marshall had believed she received all of her husband's remains at his memorial service in 1991, which was conducted by Wilson-Akins Funeral Homes.
"I had been presented with what I thought was my husband's remains, all of his remains at the memorial service in 1991," she said.
The funeral home is now involved in an ongoing legal dispute with Marshall over the handling of her husband's ashes.
An attorney representing the funeral home claims Marshall requested only a portion of her husband's ashes and that the rest be stored at the facility for her to pick up. The lawyer says she never did, and those cremains remained there for nearly 28 years.
Marshall disputes this account entirely.
"That conversation never happened. It never happened," Marshall said. "Even if the conversation had taken place, I was supposed to be given, according to what I've read, some written communication to pick those ashes up."
The state ordered the funeral home to give a proper final disposition to all of their unclaimed cremains in 2018, at which point they were sent to Great Lakes National Cemetery. Marshall would discover this by chance four years later.
"Shock, disbelief," Marshall says.
Marshall is pursuing a lawsuit, hoping to ensure no one else has the same experience that she and, allegedly, other families endured.
"Three other veterans' ashes were interred there or stored there, I should say. Two of those veterans had been there over 31 years, and one, over 10 years," Marshall said.
The state's Mortuary Science Unit investigated the matter and cleared the funeral home of any wrongdoing, but the legal fight over what happened continues.
Wilson-Aikins Funeral Homes Statement from Attorney Brunette Brandy:
In the matter involving Daisy Marshall v. Wilson-Aikens Funeral Home, please be advised that my client has complied with all state regulations relating to the Mortuary Science Licensing Division as attached. Mrs. Daisy Marshall contracted with Wilson-Aikens Funeral Home to provide for the cremation of her husband's remains. She arranged for those cremated remains to be delivered to her at the funeral home where services were held. Wilson-Aikens delivered the cremated remains, to Mrs. Daisy Marshall at the funeral home.
Mrs. Marshall did not want all of the ashes and only took part of the ashes and directed Mr. Aikens to only give her part of the cremated remains and asked that the rest of the cremated remains to go back to Wilson-Aikens Funeral Home for storage. Wilson-Aikens Funeral Home delivered the ashes to Mrs. Marshall at the church. Once Mrs. Marshall rejected taking the entire delivery of the cremated remains, as she only wanted part of the ashes, she was under a duty to pick up the ashes at the Wilson-Aikens Funeral Home.
Wilson-Aikens Funeral Home stored the cremated remains for an extended period of 27 years, from 1991 to 2018. In 2018, the State of Michigan, LARA Mortuary Science Licensing Division, inspected the funeral home and directed Mr. Aikens to transfer the cremated remains to the National Cemetery, which was done.
At no time during the 27-year period did Ms. Marshall come in to claim the remaining cremated remains. Once Mr. Marshall delivered the cremated remains and she accepted only part of the remains, it was an obligation upon her to claim the cremated tome to Wilson-Aikens Funeral Home and claim the cremated remains.
Mrs. Aikens' prolonged inaction and lack of communication contributed to this dispute and disposition of the cremated remains. The funeral home exceeded its obligation by storing these cremated remains, which were unclaimed for 27 years.
This matter was reviewed in its entirety by the State of Michigan LARA Mortuary Science Unit, pursuant to a complaint of Daisy Marshall. The State of Michigan concluded that there was a proper disposition of the cremated matters. And there was no violations of the law or regulation.
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