“That’s not my mum”: Funeral mix-up sees grieving daughter farewell a stranger
<p dir="ltr">A grieving woman has said a mix-up has meant the body in the casket at her mum’s funeral was actually that of a total stranger.</p>
<p dir="ltr">When Dianne De Jager realised what had happened, her experience was made even more distressing when she was told by the funeral director to carry on with the service regardless.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Recounting the event to <em>A Current Affair</em>, the Adelaide woman said it made her feel sick and “not want to be there”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Everybody in that room thought they were saying goodbye to my mum, and it’s not her,” Ms De Jager told the program.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It made me feel sick. It made me not want to be there.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Her mother, Margaret Locke, was due to be farewelled at the service on August 1 at the Enfield Memorial Park, with around 100 people gathering for the service.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But, when Ms De Jager looked inside the casket one last time, she realised a terrible mistake had been made.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“That’s not my mum,” she told the funeral director.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"He said, 'that's definitely Margaret, she was tagged as Margaret', and I said, 'this is not my mum'," she recalled.</p>
<p dir="ltr">He only relented when Ms De Jager showed him a recent photo of her late mum.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I zoomed the face in and I put it next to the lady in that coffin and I said, 'that is not my mum'.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Despite the mistake, the funeral director suggested they carry on with the service while the mix-up was investigated.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"How can you say goodbye to your mum when it's not her?” Ms De Jager said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"None of that eulogy really sunk in, or hit me because I wasn't really listening properly, I wasn't there. It just made me feel so empty and blank.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">In a statement shared with <em>A Current Affair</em>, Clarke Family Funerals admitted a “mistake” was made with Ms Locke’s service and that the decision to continue the service was an error.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"We have always striven to provide beautiful and respectful funerals that offer a lasting tribute but we fell well short of our own high standards,” they said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"This situation is deeply regrettable and we continue to offer our sincerest apologies to the family.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"This decision was made under the stress of the situation and on reflection we should have sought a different outcome."</p>
<p dir="ltr">Adrien Barrett, the president of the Australian Funeral Directors Association, said that multiple measures, such as various tags and checks, were used to ensure the person in a casket was the person being mourned.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But, if there is any doubt, he said the first thing to do would be to stop the funeral.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"The first thing that would need to happen would be that the funeral service should be stopped," Mr Barrett said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"The person whose funeral it's supposed to be isn't at the funeral.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"We also have a person whose funeral it's not supposed to be at the funeral."</p>
<p dir="ltr">After the service, Ms Locke was located and cremated, with the De Jager family then presented with her ashes.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ms De Jager said all she could do during the service was make the best of the situation.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"So I said goodbye to this lady, I said 'rest in peace' and 'I hope you find your family'".</p>
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<p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Channel 9</em></p>
