We are writing this to help our mother cover the funeral expenses of our father John William Robinson who passed away March 31st 2015. The Robinson family lost their son, brother, father, husband and more. He was the joy of our family. At the age of 8 months, John lost his hearing due to an attack of the Red Measles. He used American Sign Language to communicate. Even though he couldn’t speak, he knew how to express himself louder than words ever could. He had the biggest heart and always put others before him. Anyone who knew his boys Tyler and James, knew that they took great pride in calling him their father.
John was hospitalized due to a brain aneurism and after four long months, he passed away. Unfortunately to this day, nearly two years later, our family is still suffering due to the financial situation regarding the funeral expenses that were left upon our mother. Our mother who is also deaf, living on social welfare, does not have the means to cover the costs. During the funeral arrangement process, fifty percent of the total amount was due before the funeral. With no savings, my mother was forced to apply for a loan, which was later denied. Luckily she didn’t get the answer before the funeral and the funeral home agreed to allow the funeral to take place. After the funeral, as appalling as it may sound, the funeral home refused to release our father’s ashes and kept the urn as collateral. After many attempts to get loans that were denied, and attempts to negotiate payment plans with the funeral home, our mother is now at risk of losing her home. With our father gone, the household income is cut by more than half and our mother struggles enough to make ends meet, with the help of her sons. When our father passed, and after multiple demands from his side of the family, we agreed to have the funeral in Ontario. Arriving at the funeral home, given our financial situation, we chose the most basic and cheapest funeral arrangements. Never in a million would we believe that a funeral could be so expensive when we didn’t ask for any additional services. With our mother being deaf, everything regarding this situation has been directly communicated though us, her sons. How are we supposed to tell our mother that not only did she lose the closest person in her life, but that now she may be forced to lose her home as well, just to pay for the expenses of his death. It’s just heartbreaking to know that after all this suffering, our mother may also have to lose her home. How can we heal, when we haven’t even had a proper burial for our father, John Robinson. He deserved the best, but now has been held as collateral for nearly two years. This whole situation is just saddening, how death can be treated as business. All which has lead us here seeking help to resolve this situation, end our families suffering, and give our father the proper burial he deserves. We tried negotiating with the funeral home and looking for solutions but now they will only accept the payment in full. We have now started receiving letters and phone calls from lawyers and bailiffs threatening to seize and sell my mothers house.The total of the funeral amounted to $8,044.00. Now the funeral home has added 18% annual interest for the last two years making the total amount 10,939.84. We tried to avoid this situation, because it’s not in our nature to ask, but this is the only option that our mother has left.  Any contributions are greatly appreciated.