“All we did is what we were contracted to do,” Boykin said. “We did exactly as (Scherrie McLin) instructed us,” Boykin said.
But an attorney for McLin said Goldsmith could have prevented the mistake by telling the funeral home and the cemetery that a grave had been reserved for Mrs. Wilcoxon. “If (Goldsmith) was aware of a reserved grave, she should have mentioned it before the burial,” said attorney Anne Frayne.
The dispute follows news that the state revoked the funeral home’s articles of incorporation for having unpaid taxes and a judge ordered it padlocked for failing to pay a private debt.
Goldsmith said she did inquire about the burial site used during the funeral, but thought her mother would be placed at the correct site after the service.
Situations where someone has been buried at the wrong grave site are “definitely rare,” said Jennifer Baugess, compliance officer for the state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. She could not recall any complaints within the last couple of years.
Mrs. Wilcoxon is scheduled to be buried next to her late husband this week.
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