Harris Simmons’ family waited a month to get together before his funeral. The 99-year-old died in September. Friends and family booked travel, some from as far as the United Kingdom, to be at the ceremony over Thanksgiving weekend, but what was supposed to be a celebration of life quickly turned into a debacle. “My daughter calls me and she’s like, ‘Mom, where are you? Granddad’s not here,’” said his daughter Andrea. “I just got upset. I couldn’t believe it.” She says despite working with the Urgel Bourgie Funeral Home on Dollard Avenue in LaSalle for weeks, and paying a $9,000 deposit, staff had no record of the event on their calendar. She claims she was told to bring the final $2,300 balance the day of, but her family was informed the person handling the booking had doubts they could pay. “It was just devastation,” she said. “It felt like a circus. It was like nickel and diming and all this stuff. I don’t know if you want to call it discrimination or if you want to call it, you know, coming to his [the staff member] own conclusions about how it was going to be handled.” Urgel Bourgie has reached out to the family and confirmed it is investigating what happened. “We recognize how deeply meaningful it is for families to say goodbye to a loved one,” the home told CTV News. “These moments deserve the utmost care, compassion, and respect, and no family should have to experience additional stress or uncertainty during such a difficult time. We are deeply concerned by this situation, as it falls short of the standards of service and care we are committed to upholding.” Andrea says the funeral was pushed to later in the day and instead of grieving she spent that time thanking attendees, including a preacher and members of prayer circle, for staying. She adds she is struggling to deal with the funeral home, which still has her father’s remains. “My peace of mind is not there anymore.”
