Elizabeth Patrick had been seeking closure this Remembrance Day after a nearly ten-year quest to locate her estranged father’s grave brought her to a cemetery outside Winnipeg. However, instead of closure, she found herself in discussions with Service Corporation International, a major U.S. funeral services company, after her father’s grave at Green Acres Cemetery was discovered to be empty during exhumation earlier this year.
Sgt. Gordon Patrick, a glider pilot in the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force during World War II, spent his final years in Winnipeg and passed away in 1973. Buried without a headstone due to the absence of family in Canada, his daughter Elizabeth expressed concern over his resting place lacking proper recognition.
In an effort to relocate her father’s remains to a cemetery in Ontario where her son is interred, Elizabeth, who resides in England, had the grave excavated in May, only to find it empty. While initially having a positive relationship with Service Corporation International, which had agreed to waive the estimated $9,000 relocation cost, communication slowed after RCMP forensics conducted ground-penetrating radar searches.
Despite SCI offering to cover the cost of a custom headstone, Elizabeth aimed to have her father laid to rest beside her son at the Woodland Cemetery in Burlington, Ontario. However, disagreements arose when SCI proposed installing the headstone in one of their cemeteries instead. Legal assistance was sought, and discussions with SCI’s legal counsel ensued, with varying positions on liability and compensation.
SCI’s argument for non-liability was based on the timeline of ownership changes, indicating that Green Acres held no responsibility due to the transfer from Alderwoods Group to SCI in 2006. Elizabeth Patrick remains optimistic that a fair resolution can be reached to cover the expenses of the headstone and provide her father with a proper veteran’s burial. As Remembrance Day approached, she emphasized the importance of honoring her father’s memory, given his service and sacrifice.