Forest Lawn * Sunnyside * Long Beach * John Llewellyn

FOREST LAWN - ANOTHER VIEW

Mr. John Llewellyn - CEO
Forest Lawn Memorial Park
1712 South Glendale Avenue
Glendale, California 91205

Dear Mr. Llewellyn -

On December 2, 1998, my mother passed away at a nursing home in Palm Springs, California, at the age of 87, after suffering a massive stroke in 1992.  She had lived in Long Beach most of her life.

When she passed away, I used a mortuary in Palm Springs because we had been there since 1994, and the distance between Long Beach and Palm Springs made using your facilities in Long Beach out of the question.

Many years ago, I purchased three crypts in the mausoleum for my mother, father, and me.

When Rose Mortuary called to set up her funeral in the Cathedral Chapel, your counselor told us we would not be able to use the chapel "because we did not use your facilities."  Some months before Mother's passing, I had spoken to Mrs. Dolly Ogden, one of your staff in Long Beach.  She informed me that we could use the chapel by paying a fee of, I believe, $200.00, again, because we would not be using your mortuary.  By the time Mrs. Baskett passed away, apparently you were denying use of the chapel to everyone who did not use Forest Lawn for casket purchase, etc...

As a result of Forest Lawn's behavior, we had to have a closed-casket funeral in the hallway by the crypt.

Of course, you and I know that "it's all about the money."  To deny an elderly woman the right to a decent funeral in your chapel is outrageous, unconscionable, and despicable.

Therefore, I am including this story in my upcoming book, I LEAP OVER THEIR HEADS - STRAIGHT TO THE GUT (www.edwardbaskett.com).  I hope you enjoy the notoriety and embarrassment that will go with it.

Most sincerely yours,

Edward Eugene Baskett
 

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