Sherman Hemsley died of lung cancer on July 24. Since then, his body has been frozen in an El Paso funeral home because his family and friends have been fighting over the validity of his will, challenging both his desired burial place and the distribution of his estate. But now, this week, finally, after almost four full months, Sherman Hemsley will be buried following a funeral service in Texas.
A dispute over his estate delayed his burial. According to the Associated Press, San Jose Funeral Home in El Paso has announced the actor’s funeral will be at noon Wednesday at Cielo Vista Church. Burial will follow at Fort Bliss National Cemetery. Funeral home officials say the services are open to the public, reports AP. [..]
AP reports that Hemsley’s will named his longtime friend Flora Enchinton Bernal as his heir, but that his half-brother from Philadelphia, Richard Thornton, challenged the will.
Earlier this month, a judge in El Paso ruled the will is valid. [USA Today]
I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate something I said when we first covered this story, in the hope that posting it again will save me the hassle of finding and climbing a mountaintop to scream it from: I really, really do not want to be frozen in an El Paso funeral home for four months after I die.
Photo credit: Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com
