Euvy Rodney was supposed to return to Guyana for her final resting place, according to her family and a death certificate they provided to ABC7 New York. Instead, the family of the 93-year-old mother, grandmother and great grandmother says J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home in Queens cremated her, setting off an emotional demand for answers over how her burial plans allegedly became a cremation.
According to ABC7, Rodney died on July 8, 2026, and her family entrusted her remains to J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home. The family says her death certificate identified Guyana as the intended place of burial and that she wanted to be laid to rest next to her own grandmother.The situation has left Euvy Rodney’s loved ones grieving what they describe as two separate losses, first her death and then the loss of the opportunity to bury her as they say she requested. ABC7 identified Christine Weaver as one of Rodney’s 11 children and reported her reaction outside the funeral home.
“We have lost our mom twice. We have lost her in death, we have lost her body, we have no closure for our mother,” Weaver said. “For all she has done on earth, that’s how you treat her?”
The size of Rodney’s family makes the dispute especially painful. In addition to her 11 children, her family includes 55 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. FOX 5 also reported that Rodney and her husband immigrated to the United States in 1993 and raised their children in Queens. The outlet said the family has filed a complaint with the state seeking an investigation.
The family’s attorneys are also examining what happened. Attorneys John Eleftrakis and Wayne Wattley of EEP Law Firm said they had begun an investigation on the family’s behalf and could consider filing a lawsuit. As of their comments to the outlet, the legal team was still gathering information about how Euvy Rodney came to be cremated despite what the family says were clear burial plans.
Civil rights leader Rev. Kevin McCall joined the family outside the funeral home and called for state scrutiny of the facility. His criticism centered on the dignity families expect when placing a loved one in the care of a funeral home.
“No funeral home should be called a funeral home if they don’t have dignity and they don’t have respect for a family – they robbed this family of that,” McCall said. “We are calling on this funeral home to be shut down immediately. The state needs to investigate.”
The case also raises broader questions about the procedures intended to protect families during burial and cremation arrangements. The New York State Department of Health says only a licensed and registered funeral director may make arrangements involving the care, transportation, preparation, burial or cremation of a deceased person in New York. The department also handles consumer complaints involving funeral directors and funeral firms.
The New York Attorney General’s Office also states that next of kin generally have primary rights over a person’s remains unless the person made a legally recognized written arrangement appointing someone else to control disposition. Those rules provide important context as Euvy Rodney’s family seeks to determine exactly what authorization, documentation and communication preceded the cremation they say they never wanted.
Questions about how funeral homes track remains are also central to the industry. National Funeral Directors Association spokesperson Jack Mitchell described identification bands and chain of custody procedures as standard safeguards intended to keep a decedent properly identified throughout the process. Mitchell told the outlet that errors involving identification and disposition are extremely uncommon.
The Rodney dispute comes less than a year after the New York State Comptroller’s Office released an audit raising broader concerns about oversight of funeral directing in the state. The November 2025 audit covered activity from April 2019 through November 2023 and found more than 2,500 cases in state and city records where deaths were registered after the disposition of the body had already occurred. Auditors also identified concerns involving body identification practices, funeral firm registration and regulatory oversight. The audit did not identify J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home as responsible for the Rodney situation and should not be read as evidence against the business in this case.
Meanwhile, questions surrounding Euvy Rodney’s remains have continued even after the cremation. The family obtained ashes from All Souls Crematory, while their attorneys questioned whether the remains could be independently verified as Rodney’s.
The funeral home expressed sympathy for the family and emphasized its history in the community, but the statement did not explain how the cremation occurred.
“Our hearts are with the family affected by this situation. We are deeply sorry for the distress this has caused, and are committed to supporting them with care, compassion, and respect during this incredibly difficult time.
“For generations, J. Foster Phillips has been a trusted, family-owned funeral home, serving our community for 97 years with care and compassion. As a third-generation business, we have always been committed to treating every individual with dignity, respect, and the highest standard of care.
“We remain committed to accountability and to honoring the trust placed in us by the families we serve.
“Out of respect for those involved, we will not be providing further comment at this time.”
For Euvy Rodney’s family, the unanswered question remains how a woman they say planned to return home to Guyana for burial was instead cremated in New York. Her relatives may no longer be able to give Rodney the burial they originally envisioned, but their push for an investigation is now focused on understanding what happened and whether it could have been prevented.
