A burial mix-up at a city-owned cemetery has been resolved, allowing a Lauderhill widow to be laid to rest next to her late husband after weeks of confusion involving a funeral home, city officials and two families.
City confirms resolution
“We’re pleased that the City was able to facilitate an agreement between Mr. (Albert) McWhite (of McWhite Funeral Home) and the families involved,” said Ashley Doussard, Strategic Communications Director for the City of Fort Lauderdale’s City Manager’s Office, in a statement to CBS News Miami Investigates.
“The plot is available for Mrs. Vivian George to be buried alongside her husband and Ms. Vanessa Samuel’s family made arrangements and laid her to rest at another location.”
Family expected burial beside husband
According to a 2013 contract, Vivian George of Lauderhill paid McWhite Funeral Home for two plots in Sunset Memorial Gardens Cemetery, which is owned by the City of Fort Lauderdale. Her family said she expected her children to bury her next to her husband, Ralph.
However, in 2019, McWhite ordered the remains of Vanessa Samuel to be buried in that same grave.
George’s children made the discovery in September. Just days later, she died in Crandall, Texas, where she had moved to live with her daughter after receiving a terminal illness diagnosis.
Daughter speaks out
“I called the cemetery and I just kept getting a lot of the director is going to call you,” said Brandy George, Vivian’s daughter. “I (was told) it was the cemetery’s fault. It was the funeral home’s fault. It was the cemetery’s fault. It was the funeral home’s fault. It was kind of back and forth. Somebody was there (in Vivian’s grave next to Ralph’s remains). Somebody already had purchased the plot.”
City explains the overlap
The City of Fort Lauderdale confirmed that a second family purchased the same plot. In a statement, Doussard explained:
“The plot at Sunset Memorial Gardens is owned by Mr. Albert McWhite, purchased in 2013. In 2019, at Mr. McWhite’s direction, Ms. Vanessa Samuel was interred there. The City is working with the George and Samuel families, as well as Mr. McWhite, to reach a resolution that is acceptable to both the families involved.”
The contract signed by McWhite lists him as Ralph George’s brother.
“McWhite is the name of the funeral director, but my father doesn’t have a brother named Albert McWhite,” Brandy George said.
Silence from funeral director
CBS News Miami reported calling two phone numbers for McWhite and visiting his funeral home, but he did not return messages seeking comment.
Brandy George said her family also struggled to get answers.
Family turns to attorney
The family hired attorney Ari Pregen, who sent letters demanding that the city and cemetery managers find a solution acceptable to them.
“The solutions, if you will, that are being proposed to my client are that we’ll exhume, unbury, dig up your deceased father while you’re grieving your mother,” Pregen said. “Now, you’re going to have to regrieve your father and we’ll just bury them somewhere else.”
Widow’s wish fulfilled
In the end, McWhite Funeral Home agreed to make sure the George family could honor Vivian’s final wish. She will be buried alongside her husband, Ralph, just as she intended.
