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uneral home was wrong
or leaving corpse on porch
¥'
YY <
hen having to deal
with the unfortunate
experience of losing
loved one, it is expected
iat the funeral home han-
ing the burial arrangements
operly conducts and pro-
ides its services in a profes-
onal and dignified manner,
lowever, for Nancy King,
the treat
ment she
received
from a
Missouri
funeral
home was
far short of
her expecta
tions. On
returning
ome from the grocery store,
ing was astounded to find
t had a charc
-Ve are just«:
e have and tn
f it.”
, B 1 tebody of her boyfriend,
iymoveith ' H „,. i
new silt
ave to be maJ
^pefully givens
arious commurL
going as we lod
obert Holder, lying in a bag
nher front porch.
Sadly, his
lie had been
iaimed by
meet the
irevious
eek.
pparently,
ic reason the
jneral home
hose to leave
lolder’s body
m the porch
vas because
he bill for his
Cremation
mic6s had
ill, Jones saidi ((y^en paid,
y is not a fra?/i? ~ ‘
; tail. The imefe
day or
ninary
:ssive,
rk, other sports-
:e. The entitt
Duld cover 251
s, he said,
excites
ing the si
art. On the te-
ot of time 1c
ae.”
entioned in
ion or more,
-me page as *“•
dom. ‘‘Heisitf
nis point. He6
focused andi
: in there."
s did come
A funeral home should
never operate in such
an irresponsible
manner, with such
a malicious disregard
for the deceased
and inflict pain on
those who already
grieving.
Despite those who think the
home acted justifiably
iiecause of an outstanding
invoice, a funeral home
uld never operate in such
rresponsible manner, with
a malicious disregard for
ues, offices ami the deceased and those who
ilready are grieving.
While the funeral home
ivas due $1,200. the thought
ifplacing a dead person’s
xxlyon their front porch out
ifspitefor an unpaid bill is
!arger sp® jj^jpg y\t n o point was
(ing trying to avoid making
lepayment, but rather she
ieemed to be struggling to
nece her life back together
yearthata«*|vhiledealing with the death
if her boyfriend.
Moreso, because King and
iolder were not married,
(ing was not allowed to grant
Jermission for the cremation,
and thus was not responsible
br making the payment.
Holder’s daughter, who was
lisclosest surviving relative,
ilready had been contacted
indmade aware of the bill.
One rightfully assumes the
aayment was going to be
made at some point in the near
future.
When a funeral home
places such an importance on
an unpaid bill by electing to
leave the body of a loved one
on their front porch, they have
clearly circumvented ethical
boundaries.
At all times, it is impera
tive that the services funeral
homes provide be performed
respectfully, regardless of how
or when the bill for their serv
ices will be paid.
Under normal procedure
and to coincide with state
law, the funeral home should
contact the county coroner if
a relative does not claim the
deceased’s body. Yet, in
King’s case contact was
never attempted.
The State Board of
Embalmer and Funeral
Directors that licenses funer
al homes in
Missouri has
since said
that should
the accusa
tions prove
true, the
funeral home
could face a
penalty rang
ing from a
disciplinary
letter to revo
cation of its
license.
The direc-
1 •' ll f, tor for the
funeral home in question,
Gary Peterman, has declined
to discuss the allegations “out
of respect to Mr. Holder.”
Where was that respect when
the funeral home’s employ
ees were placing his body
next to the daily newspaper?
Thankfully, however, not all
funeral homes operate with the
same business driven, maxi-
mize-profit mentality. Jim
Miller, an employee for a
neighboring funeral home,
realized that the respect for an
individual goes far beyond the
status of a pending bill, and
picked up the body from the
porch. “I’m not worried about
the money,” Miller said. “We’ll
cover the expenses, I just want
to make this thing right.”
Hopefully, it will not be
long before the board con
venes and revokes the license
of this shameful funeral home.
In a civilized society, there is
no room for businesses who
operate with a lack of courtesy
and thoughtfulness.
J.J. Trevino is a senior
journalism major.
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
Page 9
dead
Family should pay expenses
for cremation of corpse
I f a month’s electric bill
goes unpaid, not one of
the house’s occupants
really is surprised when the
power shuts off. When 74-
year-old
Robert L.
Holder’s
family decid
ed not to pay
his crema
tion expens
es on time, it
should have
come as no
surprise when Holder popped
up, post mortem, on the front
porch of his Cross Timbers,
Mo., home.
Whatever the reason may
be, people feel that because of
woeful situations, things
should be handed to them for
free. Nancy King, Holder’s
live-in girlfriend, certainly
was one of
these people.
Playing her
“little old
lady” routine
for all it was
worth, it seems
she was ulti
mately trying
to weasel out
of paying her
late
boyfriend’s
funeral and
cremation
costs.
But little
old ladies can be deadbeats,
too, and Hathaway Peterman
Funeral home did the right
thing by leaving Holder on
his front steps like the morn
ing paper. Hathaway
Peterman still was faced with
a $1,200 problem, and
human corpses do not dis
pose of themselves.
Still, the initial reaction is
to feel sorry for a dead old
man, especially one who is a
World War II veteran from a
hospital. But no one feels
sorry for a crook, which is the
role King and the other mem
bers of Holder’s family played
by trying to steal a cremation
from a funeral home, which is
a legitimate business.
A cremation is a costly
affair, and anyone who works
in a crematorium knows that
their profession only is slight
ly more enviable than that of a
garbage man. When Holder’s
relatives avoided the funeral
home’s bill, they knew it was
a crime and that there would
be consequences.
King claims that, because
she was not Holder’s legal
wife and cannot grant a cre
mation, his daughter in
Oklahoma should cover the
costs. Holder’s daughter
thinks that, as a live-in girl
friend, the responsibility
should be King’s. But if they
love this man as much as they
insist, it would not matter who
paid the sum.
In today’s politically cor
rect society, everyone is a vic
tim, especially little old ladies
with dead people on their
front porches. Instead of crim
inal charges being filed
against King and the
estranged family, it is
Hathaway Peterman Funeral
Home, who is facing discipli
nary action.
Apparently the fine print
on a
Missouri
state law
says that if a
body is not
claimed by a
relative, the
funeral home
should con
tact the
county coro
ner. So now,
the State
Board of
Embalmers
and Funeral
Directors,
which licenses all of
Missouri’s funeral homes, is
breathing down Hathaway
Peterman Director Gary
Peterman’s neck.
Pat Handly, presumably the
state board’s head embalmer,
is looking into the matter. He
says that Hathaway Peterman
can face punishment ranging
from a strongly worded letter
to revocation of its license, in
spite of all Peterman’s protes
tations that they “just let this
issue drop.”
Holder has since been
taken care of by Reser Funeral
Home in nearby Warsaw, Mo.,
but it is still a travesty when
such a cut-and-dry issue as
payment for services rendered
is complicated by miserly rel
atives. At least now all of
Missouri knows that if they let
grandpa’s funeral expenses go
unpaid, he might just drop by
for one last visit.
George Deutsch is a junior
journalism major.
But little old ladies
can he deadbeats
too, and Hathaway
Peterman Funeral
home did the right
thing by leaving
Holder on his front
steps like the
morning paper.
iss
f
)2
Moral relativism is
shortsighted
In response to Charlton
Wimberly's Oct. 19 column:
EE Senior
br the 2002
>ook. Goby
hy at 1410
ext to Copy
Redmond
ng Center)
:3. M-F9-
L:30-4p.m.
AND
d.tomu.e&i
I have worked for Reuters News
Pictures for more than five years
as a contract photojournalist, and
I must protest Mr. Wimberly’s ill-
informed assessment of Reuters’
policy regarding labeling certain
groups "terrorists."
Blaming the Reuters policy on
so-called moral relativism is a
shortsighted view of the issue. A
reason for the policy is not one of
political correctness but one of
safety. In my five years with the
company, I have covered many
controversial stories where the
media became targets of violence
stemming from resentment of
prior coverage. Reuters employs
journalists in all corners of the
world - a network of coverage
larger than the ubiquitous
Associated Press. Reuters journal
ists constantly are in positions of
danger, be it in Chechnya,
Rwanda, or Pakistan and
Afghanistan. By using such lan
guage as “terrorist" or “mad
men," a news agency can create
added peril for its personnel in the
area of concern.
The official stance of Reuters is
that “we do not characterize the
subjects of news stories but
instead report their actions, identi
ty and background so that readers
can make their own decisions
based on the facts.” Reuters does
not tell readers what to think,
instead the company demands
that readers think for themselves
— a skill called upon so infre
quently by most news outlets as to
have atrophied for most of the
public. While I am as ardent a
patriot as the president himself, as
a journalist, I must suggest we rel
egate name-calling to the opinion
page and AM radio.
Brian Dear
Class of 2002
MAIL CALL
Yell leaders were
new at one time, too
In response to Kelln Zimmer’s Oct.
23 column:
If this University intends to contin
ue to be recognized for its tradition
and its diversity, then it must look to
the student body for support.
According to Kelln Zimmer, the
creation of such a group is send
ing this University down a path
that “could lead to the loss of the
very traditions that help define
the Aggie experience.” I feel very
much differently.
It is true that this school has
been built upon tradition, and I
fully feel that each and every one
of those traditions have earned
their place here and need to be
preserved. However, at the same
time, if you think back to when the
tradition of yell leaders was first
established, chances are there
was quite a bit of opposition
regarding the new “spirit direc
tors,” just as there is now for the
Rightin’ Texas Aggie Competitive
Cheer Squad. Back then, having
Yell Leaders was new to everyone
and made no promises of becom
ing a famous tradition to anyone.
The students of Texas A&M are
being offered a unique opportu
nity; the chance to begin a new
tradition. Every one of the tradi
tions at Texas A&M had to begin
somewhere. What’s to say that
something new and different,
such as a cheering squad, will
not become as famous a tradi
tion as anything else?
Another concern is that non-
Aggies will be given the wrong
impression, thinking that this
squad is the sole spirit represen
tation for the University. If there
is as much confidence in the tra
dition of the Yell Leaders as is
voiced, then it need not be a
concern.
This University is famous for
many things, of which the yell
leaders are one. It is said that, as
Aggies, we never “hiss” another
Aggie. Deep down, all this oppo
sition to the new squad is just
another form of “hissing" our
cheerleading Aggies.
It is time that the 12th Man rec
ognize that we are one student
body that adheres to the desires of
all students, and that by creating
the Fightin’ Texas Aggie
Competitive Cheer Squad, we are
not destroying old traditions, but
rather building new ones.
Stephen M. Bahr H
Class of 200
CARTOON OF THE DAY
C>