An elderly man is suing a funeral home in Picayune, Mississippi, after it reportedly refused to cremate the body of his gay husband.
Robert Huskey’s nephew had arranged for the cremation about a month before Huskey passed away, but the Picayune Funeral Home allegedly refused to perform the cremation after finding out on paperwork he was gay and married to Jack Zawadski, reportedly saying they “did not deal with their kind,” HuffPost reported.
After the funeral home’s refusal, the family had to scramble to find another facility to do the cremation because the nursing home didn’t have a morgue, NBC News reported. The nearest location was 90 miles away, causing the planned memorial service to be canceled.
Zawadski and Huskey’s nephew are suing the funeral home and its parent company for breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent misrepresentation, NBC reported.
“At a moment of such personal pain and loss, to have someone do what they did to me, to us, to Bob, I just couldn’t believe it. No one should be put through what we were put through,” Zawadski said, NBC reported.
“[Nephew] John made all necessary arrangements before Bob’s passing in order to shield his ... uncle from additional suffering and to allow friends to gather to support Jack in his grief,” Lambda Legal attorney Beth Littrell said, NBC News reported. “Instead, Bob’s peaceful passing was marred by turmoil, distress and indignity, adding immeasurable anguish to Jack and John’s loss. This should not have happened to them, and should not be allowed to happen again.”
No federal or Mississippi state law protects lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from discrimination.