Kirkland cemetery moves man’s ashes without family consent

KIRKLAND — A Kirkland family is upset after they found the ashes of both of their parents had been moved without their consent or knowledge.

Suzie Young tells KING-TV that she lost both of her parents within about two years of each other. When she went to her father Robert Vaughn’s funeral in 2013, she found his ashes were not in the place she had chosen with her siblings at the Kirkland cemetery. Vaughn’s remains were moved to the correct location about seven months later.

When the family returned for Young’s mother Linda Vaughn’s funeral in November, both parents were in a different location. She estimates her parents were moved five times in two years.

Cemetery officials say the root of the problem was in the city’s paperwork.