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A mortuary in Mississippi is being sued by the husband of a gay man for allegedly refusing to cremate him because of his sexuality. John "Jack" Zawadski, 82, and his nephew filed the lawsuit after being told that the funeral parlour did not "deal with their kind". Their legal team argue the response of staff at the Picayune mortuary devastated Mr Zawadski and his family. But the co-owner of the funeral home has tearfully denied the allegations. "We just didn't do that," a weeping Henrietta Brewer told Mississippi Today.Mrs Brewer said that her mortuary had handled the funerals of "well...

Britain’s obesity crisis is so serious that hospitals are buying specialist equipment to keep bodies cool because they are too large to fit into mortuary fridges. Hospitals are also having to widen corridors, buy reinforced beds and lifting equipment in order to cope with the growing numbers of obese patients coming though their doors. Figures obtained by The Telegraph show that hospitals have spent at least £5.5 million over the past three years to adapt allow them to treat larger patients. Experts now warn the cost of treating overweight and obese patients could rise to at least £10 million a...

Why is the US Army hiring mortuary specialists who will train others or serve operationally in "mass fatality management and response...determining and tracking mortuary affairs capabilities and readiness status.. Participates with... Federal civilian agencies...on such matters as Homeland Defense and Civil Support operations, consequence management operations, planning future operations"? The US Federal Govt's official job recruitment website is http://www.usajobs.opm.gov where you may search on 'mortuary' and see the many returns. The vacancy for 'Services Technicians' is recruiting MANY candidates via one vacancy announcement that will execute CIVILIAN mortuary affair functions all across the USA. Do you suppose that the US...

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, July 20, 2009 – Many people have trouble viewing the deceased or coping with the emotions of witnessing the transfer of a fallen comrade. For Army Staff Sgt. John A. Rosado, it is an honor to ensure fallen heroes are returned home in a timely and dignified manner. Troops bow their heads during a chaplain’s prayer during transfer of a fallen comrade at a ramp ceremony on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Ashleigh Bryant  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. It is a regular part of Rosado’s job to attend ramp ceremonies here,...

You all may remember this thread, where I posted an amazing sign erected by the mortuary around the corner from my husband's job. Well, they have done it AGAIN! I must say that the owners of this establishment are right in the forefront of community service. And they're eliminating the middleman here.

Officials have cleared the way for the burial of a British infant who has been kept in a mortuary freezer in London for the past 21 years. Christopher Blum was four months old in 1987 when he was found dead in his crib the same day he received an inoculation against whooping cough, polio and tetanus, The Times of London reported Monday. The boy's parents have refused to sign a death certificate allowing for burial because the document lists the cause as crib death instead of contaminated vaccine. Using new powers, the Enfield Council in North London has approved a...

SAN DIEGO – A motorcyclist was killed early Monday morning when he crashed against a mortuary while trying to elude California Highway Patrol officers on city streets at up to 100 mph. The predawn pursuit began shortly before 2:45 a.m. when two CHP officers spotted the 25-year-old rider speeding south down Euclid Avenue at 60 mph, said CHP Officer Brad Baehr. The posted speed limit on that street is 35, Baehr said. As the CHP unit made a U-turn and tried to catch up, the motorcyclist ran a stop light and turned west onto Imperial Avenue, reaching triple-digit speeds. “He...

THE grieving family of the Australian soldier accidentally killed in Iraq will have to wait until at least Saturday to claim his body, after the wrong casket was flown to Australia. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson today expressed his regret that Private Jacob Kovco's body failed to arrive in Melbourne this morning as scheduled, but stopped short of apologising for the bungle that resulted in someone else's body flown from Kuwait. Dr Nelson said a private mortuary in Kuwait appeared to be responsible for the mistake. He refused to apologise on behalf of the Government until an investigation identified who was...

SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (Army News Service, April 24, 2006) – Tucked away in an obscure building at Sather Air Base, a group of Soldiers hopes today is a slow one. Although most people like to have lots of work, these Puerto Rico Army Reserve Soldiers are content not to have business. When they are busy, it means someone has died. “When there is nothing, it’s a good thing,” said Sergeant Jose Vega, 311th Quartermaster Company Mortuary Affairs technician. “It’s better to stay that way than working.” However, when they do process human remains for the flight back to the...

Michael Bruno's life had been uncomplicated: He was an immigrant who worked hard, spoke his mind and succumbed to kidney cancer two years ago at 75. "Typical Italian cab driver," recalled his son, Vito. "He had an opinion about everything." It's only after death that his story became ghoulish. Authorities believe his body and those of hundreds of other people — including famed British broadcaster Alistair Cooke — were secretly carved up in the back rooms of several funeral parlors citywide to remove human bone, skin and tendons without required permission from their families. Authorities allege the body parts were...

Relatives of Alistair Cooke, the late broadcaster, have spoken of their revulsion after it was found that his bones were cut from his body by a criminal gang and sold for transplant tissue. New York police said his body was one of dozens chopped up for profit by rogue morticians in Brooklyn. After presenting BBC radio's Letter from America for more than half a century, Cooke died in March last year of lung cancer, aged 95. The "body-snatchers", as the New York tabloids call them, surgically carved out his bones the day after he died, said the Daily News. His...

A fiendish team of body snatchers in Brooklyn defiled the body of beloved "Masterpiece Theater" host Alistair Cooke, removing his bones for profit without his family's permission.......the body of the avuncular TV icon, who died in March 2004 at 95, was cremated at New York Mortuary in Spanish Harlem — but not before a pair of heartless harvesters got their hands on him. Cooke, who hosted the PBS anthology series of British programs from 1971 to 1993, was among dozens of victims whose bodies were sawed up and peddled by funeral director Joseph Nicelli and disgraced dentist Michael Mastromarino, cops...

Baghdad's mortuary reels under the weight of killings By Oliver Poole in Baghdad (Filed: 07/11/2005) The bodies are arriving at the mortuary in Baghdad in such large numbers that the orderlies have run out of places to store them properly. They are forced to leave them in piles in the overloaded freezer compartments or send them for burial in anonymous graves. Grief at the funeral of a driver, killed on Saturday by gunmen Last month there were 972 corpses received, almost all victims of violent death. The vast majority were brought in with bullet holes. Many had their hands bound...

Well, it’s been a busy week here in the newsroom. Here’s our lead news stories: In Kansas, abortionist George Tiller commemorated the 60th anniversary of Auschwitz by killing yet another of his patients, making this his fourth hospital run in a year. Hillary Clinton, in a surprise statement, asserted she had great empathy for pro-lifers: “Yes, we do have deeply held differences of opinion about the issue of abortion and I, for one, respect those who believe with all their hearts and conscience that there are no circumstances under which any abortion should ever be available." Hillary’s respect was so...

This is the entire message I read: Haven't heard this in the press but was posted to one of my military INTEL sites. Sounds right though and seems to be in line with other similiar reports of our President and his interactions with his military.......... Quote " On 7 November, I had the opportunity to send some of my soldiers to the White House to participate in a Presidential departure ceremony. It was billed as they would get there, get a brief by the Mil Asst. and stand behind the ropes and wave as the president went out to Marine...

Wrong body handed over for cremation AUSTIN (AP) — Travis County officials are investigating how the medical examiner's office accidentally released the wrong body to a funeral home, which cremated the remains. "We are very sorry this happened," Dr. Roberto Bayardo, the chief medical examiner, said in Wednesday's editions of the Austin American-Statesman. "We have to find out how this mistake occurred. I had thought we were foolproof." The mix-up occurred last week when funeral home officials went to pick up the body of Paul Williams, 38, of Cedar Park, who had been hit by a train. They were mistakenly...

Archeologists found several offerings of "exceptional quality" in the mortuary chamber. Tomb with three bodies found in abandoned city of Teotihuacan Monica Medel, EFE - 9/30/2002 A tomb containing the remains of three bodies has been discovered in the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan, the well-known ruins outside Mexico City. The find is one of the most important in recent years and will provide valuable information on the lives led by the people of Teotihuacan, who disappeared in the mists of history after the city was abandoned in the year 600. The remains were found by a multidisciplinary...