Florida funeral home accidentally cremates man before final viewing

Family and friends of a Florida barber who died unexpectedly last week were caught off guard again when they learned he’d been cremated prior to his final viewing.

Kevin Witherspoon’s family told 7 News Miami they paid Corey-Kerlin Funeral Homes and Crematory $2,000 for a final viewing of a man described as “a father, barber and jokester.”

His brother, Frank Chapman, said when he went to the Jacksonville, Fla., funeral home to drop off clothing the day before Witherspoon’s service, he was told everything was fine. But he later got a call saying his brother had “accidentally” been cremated before the funeral.

According to Chapman, when his mother died, Corey-Kerlin “took care” of her very well. Now, he wants the funeral home to be held responsible for the gaffe and “to be more careful” with the way it does business.

Witherspoon’s brother-in-law, Ronald Jackson, said the hardest part was being denied closure by not being able to “sit there and look at him” and see his brother-in-law with his “own two eyes.”

Corey-Kerlin’s website boasts that, unlike most Jacksonville funeral homes, their 58-year-old business has its “own independent crematory, resulting in lower costs and quicker service.”

The funeral home, which has two locations and no listing with the Better Business Bureau, has not returned a request for comment.