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Houston families plan to sue after a funeral home mixed up their loved ones’ bodies (Adela Uchida/NEWS 92 FM)

(HOUSTON) — Bruce Lawson said he just wishes his mother’s funeral had gone right.

“I kept telling her I was going to take care of her, I was going to take care of her,” he said. “And then you get down to the end and it’s like she didn’t get taken care of. For her, I feel responsible.”

The families of Edna Lawson and Pearlie Jean Deason said Mabrie Memorial Mortuary mixed up their bodies. Deason was buried in Lawson’s grave at the VA Cemetery for a few days before the families say the funeral home realized the error.

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Even worse, Bruce Lawson said he questioned the funeral home.

“I said, ‘This doesn’t look like my mother,’” he said. “And she just stood there. So I said, ‘Is it possible maybe you have the wrong person, you know, you have the wrong body?’ And she looked into my eyes — very adamant, very sure — and she said, ‘We don’t make those kind of mistakes.’”

Deason was eventually exhumed and buried the proper grave.

Both families plan to sue the funeral home. They said no one has apologized.

We reached out to Mabrie Memorial Mortuary for a responseFriday, and they sent us the following statement:

Two weeks ago, Mabrie Memorial Mortuary inadvertently mistook the body of Edna Lawson for another person also left in our care. The other individual was buried in Mrs. Lawson’s grave site on July 26, 2014, while Mrs. Lawson remained in our facilities. The other individual has been exhumed and properly buried. Mrs. Lawson has also been properly buried in her grave site next to her family members.

When Mabrie Memorial Mortuary discovered the mix up, we immediately contacted the affected families, apologized for the error, and took all appropriate steps to rectify the situation. We have also taken steps to ensure that a similar situation does not happen in the future. The check presented for payment for our services by the Lawson family has not been cashed and will be returned to the family. No payment has been made to Mabrie Memorial Mortuary by the other family involved and none will be charged or accepted.

Mabrie Memorial Mortuary has been a community partner for over 17 years providing memorial services to and quality healing experiences for families in the Houston area. We deeply regret that the families involved had to endure this temporary delay in properly transitioning their loved ones.

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Houston Funeral Home Mixes Up Bodies, Families Plan to Sue  was originally published on news92fm.com