Kansas City woman furious, horrified of how father’s cremated remains were buried

By Cyndi Fahrlander and Angie Ricono

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — Karen Daniels’ father died in 2018 at the age of 80. His wishes were that he be cremated and laid to rest near his daughter, Rhonda. She died in 2012.

Karen did her best to honor those wishes but was furious when she discovered her father’s bag of ashes was simply placed on the ground and a marker was placed on top.

Her understanding was her father, Kenneth, would be encased in an urn or respectable container.

“All they did was took his ashes out and laid him on the ground and put this on top. That’s all they did,” Daniels said. “This is not what we signed up for. This is not what we paid for.”

Karen made the discovery about her father’s ashes when she went to check on the gravesite at Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery. The family was told a mower ran over it and cracked a nameplate.

Karen could flip the marker up and see inside.

“I could touch him!” she said. “I tried to pull him out. All they did was take the bag out and put him in there.”

Karen was so angry that she had the ashes removed and is keeping them in her home for the time being.

“He took great pride in his family,” Karen said as she showed pictures of her father.

Kenny worked at the Claycomo Ford Plant and loved sports. He lived a good life, Karen said, and deserved much better than the treatment he received.

As part of the KCTV5 Investigates research, we connected with an independent funeral home. They were surprised to hear about Karen’s situation and said it wasn’t standard practice. But there are no rules regarding cremation burials in Missouri.

KCTV5 also connected with a nationwide expert, who said it’s important to review cemetery policies so you have a clear understanding of how the remains will be handled.

KCTV5 reached out to management at the cemetery. The manager declined an on-camera interview but relayed that the cemetery has changed ownership since Kenneth died and was laid to rest.

The manager said they aren’t sure what happened in the past, but said they are working with Karen.

She wants him returned and laid to rest in the cemetery.

“He’s going to go into another container,” said Karen. “And that will be sealed and waterproofed.”

She told KCTV5 she will be present to make sure her father is laid to rest with dignity.

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