SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. (RNS) The body of a Jewish man should be exhumed from a cemetery where his Orthodox brother had him buried, so that it can be cremated according to the dead man’s wishes, an appellate court panel has ruled.
Shortly before his death in 2007, Irving Gottesman expressed in his will and in a signed letter that he wanted to be cremated, the ashes scattered in Sunset Lake in Foxboro, Mass.
But his girlfriend, who possessed those documents, never showed them to Gottesman’s younger brother Bert, who had Irving Gottesman buried in a New Jersey cemetery just hours after learning of his death on Sept. 21, 2007.
The girlfriend, Bonnie Hiller, sued to have Gottesman’s remains disinterred. She won in a lower court in November 2008, which Bert Gottesman appealed, resulting in Tuesday’s (Feb. 16) ruling. He also intends to appeal the latest decision to the state Supreme Court, said his lawyer, Larry Loigman.
Loigman said Bert Gottesman would not have had his brother buried had he known of the documents’ existence. But he said exhuming the body would desecrate the burial grounds. Jewish teachings forbid exhumations, with a few exceptions. It also forbids cremation, although many Jewish cemeteries permit burial of remains that were cremated elsewhere.
“I’m very disappointed,” Loigman said today, “that the appellate decision failed to recognize the sanctity of the cemetery and the fact that disturbing this grave would desecrate the entire cemetery according to Jewish law.”
In its 11-page ruling, the appellate court noted a decision from last year in which the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that judges could weigh decisions about burials and exhumations in favor of the “decedent’s clear preference.”
It continued: “Bert’s claim that he acted in good faith provides no basis for disturbing the judge’s ruling that Irving’s clearly expressed desire to be cremated should be respected.”
The case was tried in New Jersey due to the burial site. The people involved — the girlfriend and the brother — both live in New York City, as did Irving Gottesman.
The brothers were raised as Orthodox Jews, but Irving, unlike Bert, did not remain Orthodox after his youth. The brothers often argued about religion, according to testimony.
In 2007, after he was diagnosed with bladder cancer, Irving signed a letter written by his girlfriend saying he did not want a religious funeral of any kind. Instead, he wanted his ashes scattered over Sunset Lake, with his children participating if they wanted.
The letter ended: “Bonnie has offered to give a party at her apartment in my memory. May there be good music, good food, food drinks, and good laughs.”
