Funeral services for a Chicago woman were canceled over the weekend after the funeral home misidentified her body and buried her a day earlier, according to relatives and the funeral home.
Family members of Ella Mae Rutledge, 74, arrived at Leak and Sons Funeral Home in the Chatham neighborhood Friday afternoon for a last-minute inspection of her body before the viewing, said her daughter, Monique Williams.
Williams became unsettled when she noticed the complexion and nails of the body were different than her mother's, she said. Williams said he pulled the wig back from the head to confirm her suspicions: Her mother had white hair, unlike the dark-haired woman in the casket.
"We said, 'This doesn't look nothing like mama,'" said Williams, 48, of South Holland. "We knew she would look different but we said, 'Man, she can't look that different.' She had none of my mother's characteristics."
Spencer Leak Sr., owner of Leaks and Sons Funeral Home, said an employee mistakenly tagged Rutledge and the other body. Adding to the confusion, a daughter of the other woman had identified Rutledge as her mother, Leak said.
"Once we found out and we asked her if she was sure that it was her mom, she said she was having second thoughts about it," Leak said. "She was very distraught and wanted to let the other family know she was very sorry. ... Eighty-three years in business, and this is the first time dealing with someone erroneously interred."
Leak and Sons Funeral Home in the Chatham neighborhood.
(Buzz Orr / Chicago Tribune)
Rutledge's body has been exhumed and returned to the funeral home, Leak said. Workers have reached out to family members in hopes of scheduling a date to meet with the Rutledge family.
Without Rutledge's body, Williams held a memorial service instead of the funeral Saturday at the Greater Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church for the 300 attendees, many of whom came from out of town.
"It was absolutely devastating," said Eric Harwell, 50, of Country Club Hills, who attended the services. "She's originally from Alabama, so there were a lot of people who came from there to pay their last respects, and her body is missing. Even the pastor of the church for the last 20 years was shaken by it all."
Rutledge died Oct. 31 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years, Williams said. Rutledge was a longtime Roseland resident but had lived in a South Holland nursing home for the past two years.
"We're not having another funeral or homecoming ceremony," Williams said. "This was too much. My father is totally distraught. He and my mother bought a prepaid policy a long time ago, but after this, he told me, 'No way in hell let my body go there when I die.'"
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...l-home-misplaced-body-met-20151108-story.html
Family members of Ella Mae Rutledge, 74, arrived at Leak and Sons Funeral Home in the Chatham neighborhood Friday afternoon for a last-minute inspection of her body before the viewing, said her daughter, Monique Williams.
Williams became unsettled when she noticed the complexion and nails of the body were different than her mother's, she said. Williams said he pulled the wig back from the head to confirm her suspicions: Her mother had white hair, unlike the dark-haired woman in the casket.
"We said, 'This doesn't look nothing like mama,'" said Williams, 48, of South Holland. "We knew she would look different but we said, 'Man, she can't look that different.' She had none of my mother's characteristics."
Spencer Leak Sr., owner of Leaks and Sons Funeral Home, said an employee mistakenly tagged Rutledge and the other body. Adding to the confusion, a daughter of the other woman had identified Rutledge as her mother, Leak said.
"Once we found out and we asked her if she was sure that it was her mom, she said she was having second thoughts about it," Leak said. "She was very distraught and wanted to let the other family know she was very sorry. ... Eighty-three years in business, and this is the first time dealing with someone erroneously interred."
Leak and Sons Funeral Home in the Chatham neighborhood.
(Buzz Orr / Chicago Tribune)
Rutledge's body has been exhumed and returned to the funeral home, Leak said. Workers have reached out to family members in hopes of scheduling a date to meet with the Rutledge family.
Without Rutledge's body, Williams held a memorial service instead of the funeral Saturday at the Greater Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church for the 300 attendees, many of whom came from out of town.
"It was absolutely devastating," said Eric Harwell, 50, of Country Club Hills, who attended the services. "She's originally from Alabama, so there were a lot of people who came from there to pay their last respects, and her body is missing. Even the pastor of the church for the last 20 years was shaken by it all."
Rutledge died Oct. 31 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years, Williams said. Rutledge was a longtime Roseland resident but had lived in a South Holland nursing home for the past two years.
"We're not having another funeral or homecoming ceremony," Williams said. "This was too much. My father is totally distraught. He and my mother bought a prepaid policy a long time ago, but after this, he told me, 'No way in hell let my body go there when I die.'"
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...l-home-misplaced-body-met-20151108-story.html
