A New Jersey woman who has been visiting her father’s grave for more than 30 years is suing the funeral home where his remains were only recently discovered in a basement.
Debbie Uraga told ABC News she’s been going to Mount Olivet Cemetery in Middletown since her father, George Jonas Sr., died in May 1993. But she learned this summer that her dad’s ashes never left John F. Pfleger Funeral Home.
The funeral home assured ABC News that Jonas’ funeral arrangements and cremation services “were handled with the utmost care,” but they were unable to contact his kin for further instructions regarding his ashes.
The company claims it wasn’t until they tried surrendering his cremated remains to a New Jersey veterans’ cemetery in June that they became acquainted with Uraga. A veteran’s organization reportedly located her.
Uraga, 69, denies the funeral home’s account of events. She and her family hired a lawyer to file the lawsuit.
“He’s just sitting there for 31 years, and I was shocked,” she told ABC News. “This was unbelievable.”
Jonas, reportedly a veteran of the Vietnam War, was preceded in death by his wife, son and daughter. Uraga thought she was visiting her whole family when she made the five-minute trek to their Mount Olivet Cemetery plot.
“I’m just glad that I’m here to make sure now I’ll get him where he should be to rest in peace,” she told CBS News.
Her family is now reportedly in possession of her father’s remains.
Uraga’s attorney claims having to deal with her father’s burial again has opened fresh wounds. He claims his client learned of the “egregious matter” a couple days before she was planning to visit his grave for Father’s Day.
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