New York funeral home accused of cremating Euvy Rodney against her final wish to be buried

A grieving family says it has lost its beloved matriarch “twice” after a New York funeral home allegedly cremated the 93-year-old woman against her final wishes to be buried in her homeland of Guyana.

The family of Euvy Rodney claims the heartbreaking mistake robbed them of the chance to honour her final request, leaving them devastated and searching for answers.

Ms Rodney died on July 8 and was taken to the J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home in Queens, New York, where her family expected preparations would be made to return her body to Guyana for burial.

Instead, relatives say they were later informed she had been cremated.

The family insists cremation was never part of Ms Rodney’s wishes and says the mistake has left them without the closure they had hoped for.

“We have lost our mom twice. We have lost her in death. We have lost her body,” one of Ms Rodney’s 11 children, Christine Weever, said during an emotional press conference outside the funeral home.

“We have no closure for our mother.”

People shared that another daughter, Ramona Rodney Park, said she first suspected something was wrong after she tried to visit her mother’s body about a week after her death but was denied access.

“I visited the funeral home and asked to see my mom,” Ms Rodney Park said.

“I was told that she was not dressed and I was not allowed to see her.”

Civil rights leader Reverend Kevin McCall, who organised the family’s press conference, described the alleged mistake as unacceptable and called for authorities to investigate.

“No funeral home should be called a funeral home if they don’t have dignity and they don’t have respect for a family — they robbed this family of that,” he said.

“We are calling on this funeral home to be shut down immediately. The state needs to investigate.”

Attorney John Elefterakis, who is representing the family, said the alleged error would remain with them forever.

“This is a tragedy,” he said.

“It will haunt them for the rest of their lives because they weren’t able to honour their mother’s wish of bringing her home to Guyana.”

Another lawyer acting for the family, Wayne Wattley, said Ms Rodney’s desire to be buried — not cremated — was clearly recorded on her death certificate, which he said had been provided to the funeral home.

“There’s no excuse,” he said.

The J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home has apologised for the distress caused but has not publicly explained how the alleged mistake occurred.

“Our hearts are with the family affected by this situation. We are deeply sorry for the distress this has caused, and are committed to supporting them with care, compassion, and respect during this incredibly difficult time,” the funeral home said in a statement.

The family-owned business said it had served the community for 97 years and remained committed to “accountability” while declining to comment further.

Despite the devastating mix-up, Ms Rodney’s family said they still planned to celebrate her life and would return her cremated remains to Guyana in an effort to honour her final wishes as closely as possible.