Posted on 11/23/2005 9:41:05 PM PST by ncountylee
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- The final resting place for a retired sergeant may be determined by a judge as two women battle over which was his wife at the time of his death.
John E. "Sarge" Burrell died in July. His body has been stored at Wiseman Mortuary in Fayetteville since then, while the women fight over whether to bury him in a veterans cemetery in Spring Lake or in Atlanta.
"Wiseman is now in a pickle," said lawyer Thomas Holt of Fayetteville.
Valerie Burrell of Atlanta married John Burrell in 1989, said Holt, her lawyer.
Hazelene Burrell of Fayetteville married John Burrell in 1954 and had three children with him. She disputes records that indicate they may have been divorced in 1969.
A judge has been asked by the funeral home to decide which woman gets the body. Holt said the case may not be decided until late December.
"Currently the body of the decedent is being stored at Petitioner's mortuary and will become a health hazard if not buried in the very near future," said Wiseman's Aug. 29 petition.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Two Wives Enter. One Wife Leaves.
Something tells me there is more than a burial plot at stake here. Could it be a GI insurance policy?
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Around 1984 an acquaintance of mine died on Active Duty.
Shortly after getting divorced and and then remarried all in a span of about two months he died in a car accident.
He never changed his SGLI insurance beneficiary. The entire proceeds from his SGLI went to his ex-wife.
Guess you just skipped right over the retire part.
Must be some money on the line too. - First I look at the purse
If he was service connected disabled, his widow (one of them anyway) can collect DIC payments from the VA, if he either died from his service connected disability or was considered 100% disabled for I think 10 years before his death. There also may be a survivors benefit payment if he was retired either regular retirement or medical retirement. I suspect we have two greedy ladies here. He also most likely had other assets. Unless he had a bundle, most likely two lucky attorneys will end up with most of the assests.
Just cut him in half.
"He never changed his SGLI insurance beneficiary. The entire proceeds from his SGLI went to his ex-wife."
Where I work they actually warn you about this. They also tell the story of the guy who changed his beneficiary to his mistress without telling his wife.
You cynic!
Perhaps he thought that being allowed only one wife was "not generous".
The dude was 74. If he had a GI policy, it wasn't worth much.
Two wives? The guy's a real stinker...
Wife one is disputing a divorce. That should be easy to prove.
Remember "Mike Hammer" author Mickey Spillane? His first wife divorced him before his work took off. When his novels became hits she sought to have her divorce nullified which would have nullified his marriage to his second wife, putting her in line for a nice pay day if she divorced him again or when he died.
It didn't work but shows how far some people will go to get a payday.
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