Gentry Morrison Funeral Home

The death of a parent forces estranged siblings to collaborate in making decisions about funerals and burial or cremation, and the process does not always go smoothly. Gary White @garywhite13
 For funeral directors, the one overriding job imperative is to fulfill the wishes of the deceased person’s family members.But what happens when the family members differ on their wishes — or can’t be bothered to make those wishes known?Those scenarios present themselves on occasion, putting funeral homes in a bind as they wait for families to reach agreements or try to locate unresponsive relatives. In the meantime, funeral homes must delay moving forward with burial or cremation and in other cases must decide how long to wait before disposing of unclaimed ashes.Barrett Nelson, a funeral director for more than 40 years, said those tricky situations have become more common as families splinter and become distant. The death of a parent forces estranged siblings to collaborate in making decisions about funerals and burial or cremation, and the process does not always go smoothly.Death can create a sense of unity among relatives of the deceased, but it also can bring out simmering tensions.“You have fractured families that fight with one another,” said Nelson, president of Marion Nelson Funeral Home in Lake Wales. “We’ve had families that have had some bitter battles — one member wants to bury and another member wants to cremate. So we just kind of back off and say, ‘Y’all are going to have to decide.’ ”When a person dies, his or her spouse has the authority to give directions on how a funeral home handles the body. If the deceased is widowed or unmarried, the decision falls to grown children, if there are any.The offspring all have equal say in deciding how to dispose of a loved one. And the decision must be unanimous, funeral directors say.If the person who dies has four grown children, it’s not enough for three to agree on cremation if the fourth wants burial, said Keith Fields, a funeral director at Oak R... (The Ledger)

She was born in Johnston City, and moved to Sebring, Florida, then to Lakeland, Florida in 1993.Patsy worked as a registered nurse for 32 years with the VA Hospital in Marion.She was a member of the Dangerous Drug Commission in Illinois and a volunteer at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Lakeland, Florida.Patsy was preceded in death by her husband, Van Eugene Craig, in 2002.She is survived by her daughter, Rosemary Whitacre and husband, Bob, of Lakeland, Florida; granddaughter, Patti Dean and children Joshua, Emily, and Blaine; granddaughter, LaKrecia Shoemaker, husband, Chad, and children Colin and Kaitlyn; grandson, Bob Whitacre Jr., wife, Melinda, and children, Liam and Alaina; and grandson, Jeffrey Whitacre (deceased), wife, Andrea, and children, Grace, Abigail, and Mason.Visitation with the family will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, in Gentry-Morrison Funeral Home in Serenity Gardens, 3350 Mall Hill Drive, in Lakeland, Florida. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, in St. Anthony’s Catholic Church at 924 Marcum Road, in Lakeland.In lieu of flowers, memorials made to St. Anthony’s Catholic School or St. Jude Children’s Hospital, will be appreciated.Interment is in Johnston City, will take place at a later date. (The Southern)