Charles O'Shea Funeral Home lost the photograph my family provided to prepare my mother’s body. They not only lost an irreplaceable photo, but as a result my mother was prepared in a way that looked nothing like her.
It turned out the funeral home did not keep record of photos they received. If there was no photo with the body in the preparation room, they just assumed none was supplied, and prepared the person as they felt appropriate. My family spoke to and met with several representatives of the funeral home. Anthony and James were wonderful and very understanding. Louis (one of the owners) was not.
Thankfully per a response from a complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau, the funeral home has implemented procedures to avoid this from happening to another family. However, in their response Louis suggested my family was partly to blame by not bringing these issues to their attention at the wake. Here is his quote - ""We only wish at the time of the wake service these concerns were addressed to us immediately.""
My family told Louis at the wake that we wanted the casket closed because my mother's appearance looked nothing like her. He was the one that closed the casket for us. At the wake one of the funeral directors left a shopping bag on one of the tables. He told us they would gather up all the pictures and Mass cards and place them in the bag. We assumed the photograph was placed in the bag. I guess Louis felt we should have started going through the bag at the wake to make sure the picture was there. We notified them of the missing photo within just a couple of days of the wake.
Our dealings with Charles O'Shea Funeral Home made a terrible time in our lives that much harder. I only hope that by sharing my family's experience, other families can be spared the same.
Thank you for taking the time to read!
Jacquie
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