‘Mistake’ angers daughter
Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006
DECATUR — Human error led to the need for exhumation and reburial of a local man’s body, according to Mayor Bill Montgomery.
April 15 funeral services for 77-year-old Norval “ Babe” Addington at the Decatur Cemetery served as closure for family and friends, his daughter Vikki Addington-Morris thought. But the phone call she received from Montgomery late in June was a shock — her father had been buried in his brother’s family plot and would have to be moved.
Addington-Morris’ words convey anger over the handling of what should have been her father’s final resting place.
“ This is not a mistake — this is my father. I haven’t even gotten an apology from the mayor. He said a new person had made a mistake.
“ It’s been two months; I’m barely getting past the death of my father, ” Addington-Morris said late last week. “ We had a lovely ceremony with family and friends; now they’re unceremoniously going to dig up the grave. I wonder how many others have loved ones buried in the wrong place. ”
Montgomery explained how the mistake happened.
“ We’re trying to work this out with both families. It’s an honest mistake, ” he said. “ The last names were the same. I am having to fix it; I had nothing to do with it originally. ”
Addington-Morris said she thinks there needs to be an investigation into the cemetery’s record-keeping.
On Thursday, Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Robin Green confirmed that her office had received a complaint regarding the Decatur Cemetery records. She said the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office had not launched an official criminal investigation into the matter; however, staff members are gathering facts to determine what course, if any, they may take.
Montgomery said the cemetery records — which date back more than 100 years — are being updated, and to his knowledge, an incident such as this has never happened before.
Montgomery said updating the records is an expensive process. “ There are no row markers or cemetery directory. We’re trying to modernize, but it’s not going to happen overnight. We have limited funds, and donations would be appreciated. ” The yearly mowing costs for the cemetery alone total more than $ 7, 200 he said.
Paperwork for the exhumation is being handled by Wasson Funeral Home of Siloam Springs. Bob Wasson, Montgomery said, told him that the funeral home deals with this type of issue almost monthly. Wasson was out of the country and could not be reached for comment.
A portion of the paperwork is comprised of affidavits signed by the family to allow the exhumation. Addington-Morris said she met the mayor to sign the necessary affidavit. There was no notary public present to witness her signature, but when she received her copy of the affidavit, there was a notary public’s stamp and signature.
“ The notary public … wasn’t present (when I signed the affidavit ); she broke the law, ” Addington-Morris said.
She thinks that, as an elected official, Montgomery should be held accountable. “ Billy is elected to take care of the city’s issues. ”
While the city and Montgomery wait for the final paperwork, which must go through the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, Addington-Morris is vocal in her disapproval of the handling of her father’s burial.
“ I think the whole thing is horrible, … the emotional expense and the fear others will be terrorized by having their loved ones disinterred, ” she said.
Montgomery is adamant: “ It was human error, and we’re working to correct the problem. ”
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