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But after everything that happened between her family and Golden Gate, Palmer says she cant be sure. As a result, multiple people were injured.. Thornton Freeway, and the family opened facilities in Tallulah, Louisiana, in 2001 and Fort Worth in 2010. 105 talking about this. Webster wouldnt have minded, except that someones remains smelled horrendousa scent she now believes was a sign of decomposition. He said none of those in the targeted car had fired any shots. Weapons, tactical gear found in Richmond police shooting victim's home. Dazed and Confused at 30: Wooderson Gets Older, but His Philosophy Stays the Same Age. It was the subject of a TLC reality show that aired in 2013 and 2014 and featured some of the funeral homes most over-the-top services, including one in which people dressed as breakfast foods while eggs and pancakes were served from the altar. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Other lawsuits detail allegations of Golden Gate Funeral Home mishandling cremations. I mean, just imagine somebody telling you the stupidest thing in the world, as though this is fact, but you know it cant be.. For $40, You Can Get an Excellent Steak Dinner Off a Dirt Road in the Panhandle, This Pitmaster Is Preserving West Tennessees Whole-Hog Tradition, The Blue Button Jellyfish Washing Up on Our Beaches Arent Jellyfish at All. Its free. Jessika is a Baylor graduate who joined the Fort Worth team in 2021 after working as a breaking news reporter at the Hartford Courant and interning at the New York Daily News. Carlisles complaints continued to pile up. Live Streams. He was groomed for the role; as a child, he practiced funeral directing with his father in the living room. One of the employees provided photos of what he said were bodies in an unrefrigerated moving truck. This is the Golden Gate Funeral Home company profile. She and her family members pulled out the makeup they had in their purses and tried to touch up Halls face. The race was the high point of a homegoing celebration orchestrated by Dallass Golden Gate Funeral Home, and the subject of the second episode of the TLC cable channels reality show Best Funeral Ever about Golden Gate and the over-the-top send-offs for which the business had become well-known. While a legal representative for Golden Gate did not respond to our request an interview, an attorney did issue a statement to local news media in late January: Golden Gate is a family-owned and operated business that has provided care and services to the Dallas Community for generations. Golden Gate Funeral Home | Memphis, Tennessee | Ever Loved To get the job done, the company reportedly employs more than 100 full- or part-time workers, including an in-house florist, dancers, and paid mourners. c***@goldengatefuneralhome.com. About Us | Golden Gate Funeral Home | Dallas TX funeral home and cremation Dallas | Golden Gate Funeral Home | Dallas TX funeral home and cremation One plaintiff says when he was shocked by the condition of his fathers body, he was told the appearance was due to a failure to thaw. When another woman went to Golden Gate to view her mothers body before the wake scheduled for later that day, she was presented with someone elses remains. All rights reserved, Oxnard neighbors say Cowboys crossed a line' building platform inches from their property, 1 killed, 3 injured in rollover vehicle accident in Fort Worth, ERCOT issues Weather Watch as forecast anticipates extreme, high temperatures. Here, we celebrate and thats what makes us different from any other funeral home in the nation, John Beckwith Jr., Golden Gate Funeral Homes chief executive, told NBCs Megyn Kelly Today in 2018. According to the court filing, her abdomen was severely bloated. Golden Gate picked up his body the next day but told Jinks more than once that they didnt have the proper paperwork to proceed. In the back of the morgue, there were bodies stacked up all over the place, there were bodies that were just sitting in the hallways.. The commission does not exercise its regulatory powers as often or forcefully as critics would like, which include the ability to investigate funeral service establishments, raise fines, and even revoke licenses. It had been hard for Beckwith III, a funeral planner at Golden Gate, to figure out how to get the deceased to the finish line, but he made it, after which Smiths loved ones chanted Ronnie and USA! In another lawsuit filed last month, a man alleges that he viewed his father in an unsightly and disturbing condition following his death in January 2021. Glassdoor gives you an inside look at what it's like to work at Golden Gate Funeral Home, including salaries, reviews, office photos, and more. When Jinks asked for an explanation, a staff member turned away from him, as if she couldnt hear him. We will not comment on this pending litigation, except to state that we plan to respond to the allegations made against us and defend against these claims in a court of law.. As Webster left the service, an employee handed her a DVD with another familys slideshow on it. Rankin died at the age of 63 in December 2019, and her children allege, based on mismatched identification numbers, that Golden Gate gave them ashes that were not their mothers. . Melody said she drove to the funeral to try and iron out what was happening. After an hour, employees located Carlisles mothers body, the lawsuit states. But these cases will take years to resolve. And he had his other female [employees]and Im gonna speak as candidly as possible, because this is my story. At the funeral the next day, she said, Golden Gates chapel was dirty, with used tissues on the floor leftover from an earlier memorial. The December 2013 episode of TLCs Best Funeral Ever opened with the service of a man who, for many of his 51 years, loved football. All content is posted anonymously by employees working at Golden Gate Funeral Home. ON NOW. The experienced funeral directors at Golden Gate Mortuary will guide you through the aspects of the funeral . Beckwith Sr. is still featured in ad copy for the company, alongside Beckwith Jr. and one of his sisters, Carolyn Haynes, both of whom are licensed funeral directors and embalmers. Dan Solomon writes about politics, music, food, sports, criminal justice, health care, film, and business. Webster turned to Golden Gate Funeral Home in South Oak Cliff because she liked their obituaries. A second suit was filed in May, by Jodie Jackson, 49, whose son was killed in a motorcycle accident in August 2019. Theyre fighting over bodies in Dallas, Texas Funeral Service Commission executive director Larry Farrow told the paper. Handled by Hales & Sellers PLLC, attorneys Jack Hales and Ryan Sellers expect more fillings to come in. I was told theyd scattered my dads ashes at their sister cemetery in Tallulah, Louisiana, alleges Webster. Golden Gate Funeral Home is being sued by families who say the central Oak Cliff business has caused them mental anguish after some say they were given the wrong persons ashes, ashes were thrown away, or bodies were left in a decomposed state during viewing, according to court documents. Since Jan. 13 this year, 14 lawsuits have been filed against the funeral home, adding on to three filed in 2021. We are hiring for drivers and concierge. As the lawsuits inch along, so, too, will legal discovery, which could reveal new information about what goes on behind closed doors. But a year and a half later, in spring 2021, when she learned from a news report that other families had filed suit against Golden Gate for similar experiences, she felt relief. I have never worked for a company where every office I go to is so miserable. OBITUARIES - Golden Gate Funeral Home Heres what Texas state law says, A few severe storms expected in North Texas Saturday evening into early morning Sunday, Dallas police ask for publics help locating 71-year-old woman who may need assistance, Boyfriend of North Texas woman fatally shot in 2020 charged with her murder: officials, Amber Alert issued for 11-year-old girl last seen in Dallas. Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. We strive to diligently address any concerns regarding our services, and we work diligently to comply with the standards and regulations that apply to the funeral home profession, Brown added. To be able to help you speak to Golden Gate Funeral Home or if you need the address designed for Golden Gate Funeral Home, their particular information is listed above. Seventeen families are suing the Golden Gate Funeral Home for allegedly losing ashes, bungling funerals and desecrating their loved ones' bodies. Bodies are everywhere, stored places they shouldnt, she told the news outlet. She is one of 25 families and counting who have filed similar suits against the funeral home and its proprietor. Bower said neither location has been found in violation of any filed complaints in the past five years. Spectrum News reported, including a whistleblower complaint from a former employee that showed rotting bodies, Texas 6666 Ranch featured on Yellowstone sells for nearly $200 million, Man dies after fire at parking garage near UT Arlington student apartments, officials say, Shooting leaves woman dead and four people wounded early Sunday in Dallas, police say, Man shot, another assaulted in west Fort Worth, police say; no arrest announced, Can you sunbathe naked or skinny-dip in your own yard? 1 of 18 Investigators work the scene where multiple people were shot in a Chevrolet SUV after leaving a funeral, Friday, July 14, 2023, in Bladensburg Md. At the time, the pandemic had pushed funeral homes across the country to the brink. I mean, nobody from Golden Gate was there to say anything comforting?. Family and friends had gathered for a funeral at Freedmans Cemetery, the designated Black burial ground that now lies under Central Expressway. In 2009, the funeral home said it handled more than 2,000 bodies a year. Perhaps the most painful thing for Carlisle was watching her younger brother struggle with everything hed seen. Golden Gate Funeral Home Christmas Party. When Jinks repeatedly called the medical examiner, he was told everything on their end had been wrapped up; the funeral home should be good to go. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Hes known for his alligator boots and Italian suits with custom-tailored trousers to holster his .45-caliber Glock. The loss has been difficult for Carlisle to process, and not just because it happened at a distance. But the Palmers persevered because they felt it was what their mother would have wanted. Sensing they had reached an impasse, Beckwith Jr. told the family that if they wanted to continue the conversation, it would have to be through their lawyers. Golden Gate Funeral Home | Dallas TX funeral home and cremation It has since expanded to its current spot on R.L. Investigation into the allegations are ongoing with the Texas Funeral Services Commission. We all speed sometimes, and we get a ticket, says Bates, of the North Texas Funeral Consumer Alliance. That might be the hardest assurance to get. Golden Gate issued a statement to NBC 5 Wednesday afternoon saying, "Golden Gate is a family-owned and operated business that has provided care and services to the Dallas Community for generations. But however they define it, a sense that justice is served is paramount to allas is a guarantee this will never happen to anyone else. (Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images) I just asked her (an employee) one question, So when are yall going to cremate my mama? and she said, Ill be right back.'. Rick Perry, current Gov. When they saw the look of horror on Websters face, her pastor and friends spontaneously performed as a makeshift choir. This was an unnecessary, senseless act of violence. But Golden Gate couldnt give her the cremains. His brother died first, then his mother, and then, in January 2021, his father, Johnny Ray. In her meeting with Golden Gate staff, Carlisle arranged for standard embalming and cosmetology for Hall, as well as transportation of the casket to a wake and funeral at Cornerstone Baptist Church and later Lincoln Cemetery. The owner of Golden Gate Funeral Home strongly denies the claims and said it's not true. It took staff over an hour to find Halls actual remains. COVID vaccine Chicago: Golden Gate Funeral Home in Auburn-Gresham hosts Beckwith said to his companys defense, that with handling around 400 funerals a month, its not unusual to have some complaints. In the Aging Oil Business, These Young CEOs Stand Out. That wasnt the only run-in Sanders had with Beckwith Sr. She said that her stepson was killed a few days later and that she got a call from Beckwith Sr., who was on his car phone waiting in her apartment complex parking lot. Her mothers obituary was full of typos. We have nothing to hide, no one can tell you that theyve seen a U-Haul here, that theyve ever seen us misplace any loved ones here that just dont happen at Golden Gate Funeral Home, said Beckwith. While Jinks was the only one who shared suicidal thoughts with me, Webster and Palmer both volunteered that they are in therapy for the first time. In 1987, his dad made him acting CEO. The shooting site is near a bridge that crosses the Anacostia River in Bladensburg, about a mile (.6 kilometer) east of the Maryland border with Washington, D.C. Bladensburg Police Chief Tyrone Collington Sr. said at an afternoon news conference that he did not know the conditions of the wounded. BLADENSBURG, Md. Request Information Vote today at dallasweekly.com. It just made no sense. Cassandra Coleman Email & Phone Number - Golden.. | ZoomInfo But Busby always had a reason for never staying in one place too long; this time, it was Websters divorce. Her mothers body, displayed at the wake, was so unsightly that attendees felt compelled to take a picture, according to the lawsuit. Weve been to Golden Gate services before, Palmer says. Webster drove to Golden Gate for an in-person audience. She called me distraught, like, 'I have these ashes, they said, you know, mommas been cremated, and we have to have the ashes right here! And I was like, No, calm down,' replied Melody in response to her sisters phone call at the time. In 2020, Golden Gate claimed it processed more than 2,800. While the Texas Funeral Service Commission has at times intervened in funeral directors unscrupulous behavior, its just as often part of the problem, according to several sources familiar with the agency. When they presented Jinks to his father, one of Johnny Rays eyes had been smashed in. In time, the Peoples Undertaking Company closed, but other Black funeral homes opened in Dallas, both during the period of formal segregation and long after Jim Crow ended. Golden Gate traces its roots to the civil rights movement. Golden Gate follows all state laws and regulations and is in good standing with the Texas Funeral Service Commission.). A spokesperson for the Texas Funeral Service Commission said she could not provide any information due to state confidentiality laws. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. But new lawsuits allege that, once the cameras switched off, the funerals it delivered were the stuff of nightmares. It takes time for surviving family members to forget the pain of loss after the death of a loved one. Episode 177: Golden Gate Funeral Home Sinisterhood I would ask for them to come personally speak with me, Im the owner, Im the CEO my office is the first office when you walk through the door, I have an open-door policy, said Beckwith. In 2019, court records show, Beckwith sued JB3 for eviction. When we say 'We. Family owned and operated for over 40 years. Just like when youre hungry, you think of McDonalds, even though that may not be the healthiest thing, she told me over Zoom. We use local florists to take care of your expressions of sympathy. Melody Palmer holding a locket containing pictures of her mother. When Rankin died at the age of 63, her children reflexively turned to Golden Gate for the funeral arrangements. Normal Topic Hot Topic (More than 15 replies) Very Hot Topic (More than 25 replies) Locked Topic Sticky Topic Poll Updated: Feb 5, 2022 / 03:45 PM CST ( NewsNation Now) A Texas funeral home that once had its own show on TLC is being sued by almost 20 families over accusations of negligence and mishandling of their loved ones' remains. We are humbled and would appreciate the support for you. She was like, You know Mrs. Anderson I just checked the refrigerator, I checked all the bodies, your mother is not back there, I just checked everything. And at that point, I became, you know, livid, said Melody. If everything alleged in court documents is true, Golden Gate Funeral Home consistently displayed an alarming dearth of professionalism and organization. Webster wasnt alone. So mourners, dressed in sports jerseys, gathered on a football field. When Nekeya Websters father died at the end of 2018, she called Golden Gate because the funeral home was so well-known, it was the first to pop into her head. Webster, 39, a real estate agent, went over the memorial plans multiple times, including the specific hymn the family wanted played during the funeral. Still in a hospital gown, the body was not made-up for the ceremony and had partially decomposed, documents add. At a viewing the day before the crowning ceremony, Webster and other visitors were seated in a large room with other bodies and other mourners, separated by only thin partitions. Its painful and tedious. They were upset another persons slide continued to show up on their monitor in the room they were assigned. Read Golden Gate Funeral Home - Fort Worth obituaries, find service information, send sympathy gifts, or plan and price a funeral in Fort Worth, TX Hes on antidepressants and in counseling, but he cant stop turning the questions over in his mind. The funeral industry remains among Americas most segregated, the consequence of centuries of discrimination. John Beckwith III had just driven the corpse of former Olympic sprinter Ronnie Ray Smith, who had died at age 64, down the track for one final hundred-meter dash, and he seemed worried that the stunt, which consisted of a coffin strapped to a go-kart, had not worked as smoothly as he had envisioned. The Houston-based Service Corporation International, the largest funeral service provider in the United States, is one of several such political donors. Golden Gate Funeral Home owner and director John Beckwith Jr. looks through a window during a double funeral in Dallas on July 30, 2020. I didnt take a log or write it down, but I just kept seeing Golden Gate, Golden Gate, says Bates, who will serve as an expert witness for Webster, Palmer, and other plaintiffs. Her sister became hysterical., They say Beckwith Jr. initially rebuffed their request for a face-to-face conversation, in part because he was busy attending the Super Bowl. A Dallas funeral home known for its reality TV show on elaborate services is facing at least 17 lawsuits that accuse the business of being negligent in handling corpses and remains. He was often homeless. The hospital rushed Carlisle to find a funeral home to claim her mothers body, and when an aunt recommended Golden Gate, Carlisle didnt hesitate to call. Darris alleges the vehicle was on Golden Gate Funeral Homes property in the back. We are a core group of passionate funeral directors with an emphasis to provide support and care for Golden Gate Funerals Investigators collect evidence at the scene where multiple people were shot in a Chevrolet SUV after leaving a funeral, Friday, July 14, 2023, in Bladensburg Md. To me, thats more (complaints) than what we need, but we have some families that are just not satisfied at the end of the day, if thats not the case, we do everything can to try and satisfy them.. Others want to see the entire operation closed for good. Webster was a mother and schoolteacher when she tracked down Busby a second time. The loss of a loved one can leave you with a lot of unanswered questions, feelings of stress and anxiety and grief that makes events difficult to handle. My dad told me, I cant [point out your mistakes] from the grave, Beckwith Jr. told D CEO magazine in 2015. Five people returning from a funeral at a . Mind you, I havent seen her within a month, so when I did see her, I just wasnt pleased at all, Carlisle says, her big, blue eyes gone cold. PFive people returning from a funeral at a cemetery were shot and wounded by someone firing into their car from a second vehicle in a Maryland suburb of the nation's capital, police said. The Golden Gate Funeral Home has filed a general denial to the lawsuits which reads, in part, "Defendants generally deny each and every, all and singular, the assertions alleged. Golden Gate Funeral Home Reviews - Glassdoor For the owners and employees of Golden Gate, nothing matters more than providing compassionate and caring guidance for the bereaved, and respectful and dignified care for their loved ones, attorney Tonika Brown said. He came up with papers and said, I want you to release the body to me. Drivers must have a valid drivers license. The lawsuit alleges the family was given an identification number that did not match the remains they received and goes on to claim, defendants documents show hand-written numbers added to several documents but failed to provide any meaningful manner to tracking Virginias remains. It has 65 cars in its all-white fleet, including Cadillacs, Chryslers, Lincolns, Mercedes vehicles, and a Bentley. Golden Gate Funeral Home is being sued by families who say the central Oak Cliff business has caused them mental anguish after some say they were given the wrong person's ashes, ashes were. Youve been doing this; its just now being caught.. Beckwith denied the accusations, telling Spectrum News 1: Ive never used a U-Haul for storage. Thornton Freeway Dallas, TX 75224 Tel: 1-214-941-7332 Fax: 1-214-374-4609 Email: ggfhjb2@aol.com LOCAL WEATHER Weather for Dallas, TX More at Dark Sky Loading. Visit Five people returning from a funeral at a cemetery were shot and wounded by someone firing into their car from a second vehicle in a Maryland suburb of the nation's capital, police said. The next generation isnt always interested in funeral directing. Going forward, everyone has different hopes. Beckwith Sr. allegedly asked Sanders to sign over a $5,000 burial policy she had taken out previously and also to apply for the $3,000 maximum compensation from the fund, which she could supposedly keep when the state paid out several months later. This injustice led Black men across the country to serve as itinerant undertakers and, later, to establish their own funeral homes to guarantee reliable, respectful services to their communities. Inside the Accusations Against Golden Gate Funeral Home - D Magazine Vernon Bryant, The Dallas Morning News. I really would have committed suicide., Other families can likely relate. Families often request an immaculate public presentation of the corpse; hymns of comfort and uplifting gospel songs; and tributes from loved ones and clergy members intended to fortify the spirit of the living. Jinks still doesnt know where his fathers body was kept or what happened to his face. Add Benefits. But in the two years that Bower has served as executive director, he tells me they have yet to revoke a license. While the traditional White Christian funeral is often a display of restrained grief, the Black Christian homegoing is a celebration. While Busbys remains seemed reasonably well preserved, Webster noticed that no one had bothered to do the basic work of cleaning under his fingernails. But I knew something was wrong when they left me in a room by myself for over an hour. When a staff member finally came back, the woman announced that Webster had waited too long to claim her fathers remains, so Golden Gate had spread them at a site of their choosing, over the state line in Louisiana. Honoring Memories. Episodes of Best Funeral Ever show Golden Gate producing extravagant and unique funerals such as one in which remains are placed in a football and kicked over a goal post, the law firm said in a news release. This story was originally published January 26, 2022, 10:18 AM. Enter your email below to receive a grief support message from us each day for a year. But every year, they face more challenges. While Golden Gate is an intergenerational business, Beckwith Jr. remains the companys public face. Offerings at a tree memorial to fallen students. It's come full-circle at Golden Gate Funeral Home, located in a neighborhood hit hard by COVID-19 deaths - Auburn-Gresham. Now, of all the things that go wrong, I mean, what can go more wrong than dead? she says. A wave of corpses left many undertakers strapped for storage space, tools, and time. Five people returning from a funeral at a cemetery were shot and wounded by someone firing into their car from a second vehicle in a Maryland suburb of the nation's capital, police said. Its like a slaughterhouse, Darris told Spectrum Local News. The funeral home is run by John Beckwith Jr., known for producing over-the-top funerals. In an April report on Spectrum News 1, two former Golden Gate employees accused the funeral home of keeping decomposing corpses in unrefrigerated areas. . Lawyers representing the plaintiffs are still hearing from new families with complaints, and told Texas Monthly they anticipate that the number of lawsuits will grow. 1,080 were here. Read More. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Bladensburg, a town of about 9,400 people, is home to a World War I memorial known as the Peace Cross situated on a median near the bridge. A public information request, filed by lawyers for the plaintiffs, shows that three complaints were resolved with the commission finding that a violation ofTexas Occupations Code Chapter 651on Crematory Services, Funeral Directing, and Embalming had occurred. Until the late 1980s, the Texas Funeral Service Commission and Service Corporation International shared both office space and a lawyer. Dallas, Texas 75201. That was a lightbulb moment for Palmer and her family: lawyers, now thats an idea. The official history of New Hope Baptist Church describes one incident that is emblematic of how things worked in 19th-century Dallas. Golden Gate had tried to hold the wake in their own chapel, despite explicit instructions to transfer the body to Cornerstone. They only focus on the bad. She oversees the magazines travel and style sections. He replied that news travels., In Texas, solicitation on the part of funeral directors can be illegal; in 1991, the commission said it received one allegation of solicitation by Golden Gate each month. But Golden Gate is just speeding all the time, throwing tickets out the window., 750 North St.Paul St. If you need our services immediately, please call us. Dallas | Golden Gate Funeral Home | Dallas TX funeral home and cremation DALLAS: 1-214-941-7332 | TALLULAH: 1-318-574-6100 | FT. WORTH: 1-817-478-9555 DALLAS 4155 S. R.L. Rural School Districts Are Facing Financial Ruin. How could a famous mortuary business, one with a television show devoted to its success, get the basics of after-death care so wrong? Some families were forced to view their loved ones in a grotesque state of decomposition, Ryan Sellers, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement announcing the lawsuits. But the complaints never stopped, says Jim Bates, who has for more than 30 years worked with the Funeral Consumers Alliance of North Texas, a local arm of the national nonprofit watchdog organization. While the funeral home has built a reputation for going to extremes to make its services memorable, more than a dozen former customers are alleging in new lawsuits that Golden Gate failed to meet basic funeral standards. Something had happened to his father. We can't tell if it's (their) mom or not, the paperwork shows that it's not, said Ryan Sellers, their other attorney. (Because her sons ashes should have filled up only one third of an urn, the court filing alleges that it is estimated that the urns contain ashes from at least three adults.) In September 2021, Nekeya Webster became the third to file suit against the funeral home. Whoever it is, they dont deserve to live in a bag. But at least five family members have reportedly attended the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service, indicating their intention to keep the tradition alive. Claim this page . She didnt hear from funeral home staff for months, she says. He said it three times. When the owner of the funeral home heard the news, he took Bubba to a bus stop and bought him a ticket to Dallas.