Latest news with #cremation
CTV News
4 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
B.C. woman sues after father's brain found years after his death, cremation
A B.C. woman says she needed up having her father cremated without his brain, after the vital organ was allegedly mishandled after his death. A Victoria, B.C., woman is taking legal action after her father's brain was found sitting in a hospital fridge over two years after he died. Mandy Large is suing the B.C. Coroners Service and the Vancouver Island Health Authority for negligence and for breaching their duties of care. Her father, Philip Peter Billy, was 55 when he died in Nanaimo on Feb. 27, 2022. His brain was removed for examination during an autopsy and was never put back, Large said. 'They were cleaning out a fridge at Royal Jubilee Hospital and they found my dad's brain in a jar,' she told CTV News Vancouver Island. In an email chain Large shared with CTV News, a coroner confirms her claim. 'When (Billy's brain) was received by Royal Jubilee Hospital it was misplaced in a fridge and not returned to the body. It was found now while the fridge was being cleaned out,' coroner Emily Lefler wrote to Large on Oct. 1, 2024. The coroner's service and the health authority said they cannot comment while the matter is before the court. In April 2022, the notice of civil claim says Billy's body was moved from Nanaimo to Victoria, where Large said he was to be cremated. Billy's brain remained at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, and Large said she doesn't know why. A month later, the coroner's service said the brain and body had been reunited, according to the notice of claim. 'But it didn't happen,' Large said, though she didn't know that at the time, so she went ahead with cremating her father. 'My dad being cremated without his brain, it just meant that he was… in the spirit world without a brain,' said Large, who is First Nations. Her email exchange with Lefler suggests a miscommunication led to the alleged mishandling of the brain. 'Royal Jubilee staff were the ones that misplaced the brain and told us it was with the body when it was not,' the coroner wrote. Large describes her father as a gentle giant with a soft voice and a good soul, despite enduring residential school and having a hard life. 'I found some peace in my dad passing away – for him – because he no longer had to struggle,' she said. 'My dad didn't get to die with dignity… He was wronged even after his passing by these systems that are put in place.' She hopes the lawsuit ensures other families don't suffer in the same way. 'What happened to my dad greatly affected me emotionally and mentally and it still affects me today,' she said. His brain has been cremated and reunited with the rest of his remains, she said.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
World's first LIVING coffin: Eco-friendly casket is made from mushrooms - and the unusual method is already available in Britain
When it comes to funerals, two choices usually spring to mind. Most people will opt for either a traditional ground burial in a wooden coffin or a cremation, which turns a person's remains into ashes. But an alternative method is now available - and it's good news for nature-lovers. A company has designed the world's first 'living coffin', made of natural materials which degrade in just 45 days once buried. Dutch company Loop Biotech, who are behind the design, grow the 'Living Cocoon' from local mushroom species and upcycled hemp fibres in the space of a week. They pad out the interior with a soft hemp bed and a pillow of moss, with the option to 'upgrade' to a bed of wool or soft cotton. The coffin itself weighs 30kg and has a carrying capacity of up to 200kg, with six integrated handles for easy transportation. The unusual burial method is already available in the UK, but it isn't cheap - the living coffin costs around £3,000. Mark Ancker recently become the first person in the US to be buried in the eco-friendly casket. 'I have confidence that my dad will be fully part of the garden by winter,' Marsya Ancker told Fast Company. 'He didn't want to be embalmed, just to return to the Earth in a place that he loved.' Her father always used to tell her that he wanted to be buried naked, under a tree in the woods. When he passed away in June, her first call was to Loop Biotech and her father has since become the first person in the US to be buried in the 'Living Cocoon' - in a forest clearing on his property in Maine. So far, the company has sold around 2,500 caskets in Europe - mostly in the Netherlands - but their coffins are also available to be shipped to the UK. 'Become part of nature's majestic loop of life and enrich the earth with the world's first living coffin,' their website reads. The company said traditional wooden coffins 'not only require decades for trees to grow but also involve chopping, importing and processing them'. Their 'Living Cocoon', however, can be fully grown in seven days using local raw materials, eliminating unnecessary transportation and the need for additional paint, glue, varnish or screws. What is mycelium? One of the key ingredients used to make the caskets is mycelium, the 'root' system of mushrooms. It plays an important part in nutrient absorption and decomposition, and is known as one of nature's greatest recyclers. As it breaks down, mycelium can help 'foster new life in the soil' by introducing a new carbon and energy source. To make their caskets they mix mycelium - the 'root' system of mushrooms - with hemp, a plant often cultivated for its fibre. The mixture is poured into a mould and a coffin grows out of it over the space of a week. The company has a 1,500 square-metre growing facility in Delft, Netherlands, with the capacity to grow 500 caskets at a time. The living coffin costs around £3,000, and can also be used for cremations. Meanwhile their biodegradable urns cost roughly £300. Meanwhile price of a wooden coffin can vary significantly depending on the type of wood, level of craftsmanship and whether it's for cremation or burial – but can cost as little as £270 and up to around £2,000 in the UK. 'Funerals can be more than endings - they can be beginnings,' Bob Hendrikx, founder of Loop Biotech, said. 'We created the Loop Living Cocoon to offer a way for humans to enrich nature after death. It's about leaving the world better than we found it.' So-called 'green' burials, which have grown in popularity since the 1990s, are a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional funerals. They focus on minimising environmental impact by using biodegradable coffins or shrouds and avoiding embalming, often taking place in designated natural burial grounds such as woodlands or meadows. 'We have helped many families in the UK with our sustainable funeral solutions,' a spokesman for Loop told MailOnline. They said that last weekend Poppy's Funerals - a funeral director based in London - had a burial with one of their Living Cocoons. The latest burial option follows an emerging trend for 'boil in a bag' funerals that dissolve bodies and flush them down the drain. The method, which could soon become available in Britain after catching on around the world, is officially known as water cremation or alkaline hydrolysis. It involves rapidly decomposing a corpse in water and alkaline chemicals under high temperatures, leaving only liquid and bones. The liquid, known as 'effluent', can go down the drain with other wastewater and bones that can be ground to ash for the bereaved owner to take home. Advocates say the method is better for the environment, but others believe it is an undignified way to dispose of the dead. Promession, or cryomation - Involves using liquid nitrogen to chill the body to -196c, leaving it so brittle that it can be 'fragmented' on a vibrating mat. A magnet then removes metal objects such as fillings and artificial limbs, leaving a sterile powder - giving a whole new meaning to 'dust to dust'. Aquamation - Sees bodies placed in silk bags and submerged in an alkaline solution that has been heated to 160C. Flesh, organs and bones all dissolve under the onslaught, leaving behind fluid and bones. Ashes turned into diamonds - This technique utilises the fact that both human beings and diamonds are carbon-based. A body is cremated and the resulting ash is then purified at 3,000C before being further heated and pressurised into a diamond over a 16-week period.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Service Corporation International Announces Schedule For Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Release and Conference Call
HOUSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) announced it expects to issue a press release with financial results for the second quarter 2025 on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. A conference call will be hosted by SCI Management on Thursday, July 31, 2025. Details of the conference call are as follows: What: Service Corporation International Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call When: Thursday, July 31, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time How: Dial-In Numbers – (888) 317-6003 or International callers at (412) 317-6061 / Code – 0839787 or listen live via the internet through our website at in the Investors section under "Webcasts and Events" Replay: (877) 344-7529, International callers at (412) 317-0088, Code – 2965589 available through August 7, 2025, and the webcast for at least 90 days through our website at in the Investors section under "Webcasts and Events" About Service Corporation International Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI), headquartered in Houston, Texas, is North America's leading provider of funeral, cemetery and cremation services, as well as final-arrangement planning in advance, serving more than 600,000 families each year. Our diversified portfolio of brands provides families and individuals a full range of choices to meet their needs, from simple cremations to full life celebrations and personalized remembrances. Our Dignity Memorial® brand is the name families turn to for professionalism, compassion, and attention to detail that is second to none. At June 30, 2025, we owned and operated 1,485 funeral service locations and 498 cemeteries (of which 310 are combination locations) in 44 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For more information about Service Corporation International, please visit our website at For more information about Dignity Memorial®, please visit View original content: SOURCE Service Corporation International Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Julian McMahon's death certificate reveals ominous details about star who died after mysterious cross-country trip to Scientology HQ city
Tragic TV heartthrob Julian McMahon was given a quiet, lonely send-off after his shocking death in Florida following a secret battle with cancer, can exclusively reveal. The Nip/Tuck star did not have a funeral, we can disclose – instead he was quietly cremated without ceremony in the beach city of Clearwater where he had mysteriously turned up with wife Kelly. McMahon's body was handled by Eternal Cremation Services in nearby Dunedin after his July 2 death in a nearby hospital, according to his death certificate obtained by A spokesperson for Eternal said it did not handle a funeral for the 56-year-old son of former Australian prime minister Sir William McMahon. When asked if there was any funeral, anywhere, for him, the spokesman replied emphatically: 'There was not.' And he could not confirm if McMahon's third-wife Kelly, 47, attended the cremation at Palm State Crematory. Tragic TV heartthrob Julian McMahon was given an apparently lonely send-off following his shock death in Florida after a secret cancer battle, can exclusively reveal The absence of a formal send-off for the beloved actor - known to millions as Dr. Christian Troy on Nip/Tuck and Cole Turner on Charmed - is only fueling speculation about the mysterious final months of his life His apparent move from California to Clearwater has already sparked frenzied online chatter because the Church of Scientology has its global headquarters there. The controversial and secretive religion has a host of celebrity followers, most famously Hollywood's Tom Cruise and John Travolta, and attracts showbiz types. Some 4,000 members live in Clearwater and its giant HQ, called Flag, dominates the downtown area. McMahon's successful 36-year career in his native country and in the United States from the early 1990s makes the lack of entertainment industry pals marking their respects even more puzzling. And while his father Sir William and mother Sonia have long passed away, his sisters Melinda, 58, and Debbie, 52, were reported to be devastated by his death at their homes in Australia. The actor died from lung metastasis – where cancer that started elsewhere in the body spreads to that organ – according to the Pinellas County cremation approval report obtained by It added this was a consequence of head and neck metastatic cancer. However, it did not reveal the type of cancer McMahon was originally battling. McMahon died as an inpatient at the Morton Plant Hospital, according to his death certificate. There will be no autopsy report, the medical examiner's office told us. Adding to the Clearwater connection mystery, the 'residence' address on the death is listed as a place in Ventura Boulevard, Encino, California. However, this is a building housing a showbiz accountancy firm and two other businesses. His occupation was given as 'producer/entertainment' and it revealed he had 'some college credit, but no degree'. The actor, previously wed to Australian singer Dannii Minogue and Baywatch star Brooke Burns, is not known to have had any connection with Clearwater before his death was revealed. He and former model Kelly previously had a stunning three-bedroom, four-bathroom pool home directly under the Hollywood sign which sold for $2.16million in 2015 and is now worth an estimated $3.4million. They're last known place in California is an equally beautiful spread in Somis, California, which the couple sold in August 2023 for $2.825million, according to records. The three-bedroom hacienda-style pool home sits on 15.5 acres in the heart of Ventura County's avocado region. The sales literature at the time said there would be farming income from 4.5 acres of Haas avocados and 10 acres of lemons. And possibly in a hint of the couple wanting a completely new lifestyle, it was advertised as being available furnished. Despite their 'out of the blue' appearance in Florida, there do not appear to be any property records linking them to the Clearwater area. When the city's connection to his death was revealed, the internet rumor mill went into overdrive. 'I live in Clearwater… close to a house John Travolta owner, because we're about a mile from the Scientology center in downtown Clearwater,' one local wrote on Instagram. 'I was wondering if Julian McMahon was a Scientologist since (Kelly's statement) said he died in Clearwater, because why else would he live the last few months of his life there? The only celebrities that do are usually Scientologists. Surprised, that's for certain!' Another person posed the question on X: 'Why was Julian McMahon in Clearwater when he died? Like, that's Scientology city.' Scientologists believe humans are 'immortal spiritual beings' called Thetans, who have many lives and possess unlimited potential through reincarnation. Scientologists are commonly cremated. While McMahon bravely continued his acting career, Kelly has been running a website called Super Spiritual Girl, describing herself as a 'spiritual concierge' on her Instagram. Her site says: 'We believe in spreading light and the power of collective consciousness. We welcome all souls on a path to healing, wellness and truth. Kindness, authenticity, integrity and honesty are our core values.' As creator and founder, she is described as having practiced and trained 'a wide range of spiritual modalities for the last 15 years' and is a 'shamanic healer'. Despite the fevered theories, Scientology expert and writer Tony Ortega damped down the speculation about the TV star. He told 'I haven't seen any evidence that McMahon was a Scientologist. 'Scientology dominates a small downtown part of Clearwater. But most people there don't do near it. Many people are drawn there to the beach, which has nothing to do with Scientology.' The religion and affiliated companies owns roughly 185 properties in the downtown area, which frequently has an eerie sense of quiet. Church figurehead and Hollywood megastar Cruise, 63, has a penthouse apartment at the Flag building where he reportedly has a private elevator that whisks him from parking lot to his living area. Travolta's wife Kelly Preston died after a breast cancer battle in 2020. Two years later Cheers actress and Scientologist Kirstie Alley died from colon cancer at the Clearwater mansion she bought from the late Lisa Marie Presley – who was also a follower of the religion. News of McMahon's death stunned his fans who had no idea he was secretly battling cancer. Kelly, who wed the star in at a Lake Tahoe ceremony in 2014, revealed in a statement: 'With an open heart, I wish to share to the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer. 'Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy to as many lives as possible. 'We ask for support during this time to allow our family to grieve in privacy. And we wish for all of those to whom Julian brought joy, to continue to find joy in live. We are grateful for the memories.' There were hindsight hints of the tragedy to come when McMahon was last seen publicly in March at the SXSW premiere of his psychological thriller movie The Surfer alongside co star Nicolas Cage in Texas. Although no one realized he was ill, the star appeared thinner and more fragile, dressed in a blue blazer that hung loosely.
RNZ News
14-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Calls to curb price rises for burial and cremation fees
money local council 37 minutes ago Funeral directors are calling on councils to curb price rises for burial and cremation fees, ahead of this year's local body elections. Funeral Directors Association chief executive Gillian Boyes spoke to Charlotte Cook.
