Church cancels memorial over T-shirt
Priest apologizes for volunteer’s ‘error in judgment’
SASKATOON — A Saskatoon widow scrambled to find a new venue for her husband’s funeral after a local church cancelled her booking based on how the deceased looked in his obituary.
Cheryl Stinson says her family was set to hold a memorial for her stepfather, Larry Frazer, at the St. Patrick Parish Centre hall on Sept. 29, until the church cancelled the booking on Monday. The worst part is why the church cancelled, Stinson said in an interview.
“The funeral home called her Monday and told her the church saw Larry’s picture in the paper and because of what they saw they ‘do not want his kind there’ so she couldn’t have the hall,” Stinson said in an interview. “My mother was extremely upset, of course.”
On Thursday, church officials apologized for the comment, which they attributed to a volunteer responsible for booking the hall.
In the obituary photo, Frazer has a mohawk haircut and wears a Tshirt displaying the words Sons of Anarchy, a television show about a biker gang. Stinson said she suspects the volunteer thought Larry was a gang member, which she said is a ridiculous idea.
“I just want people to know what happened, and an apology for my mom,” Stinson said. “I can’t believe anybody would do this to someone who just lost her husband.”
Father Gerard Cooper of the St. Patrick Parish Centre said he wasn’t aware of the situation until Thursday, when he learned a volunteer had cancelled the booking. He said the decision was an “error in judgment” and doesn’t reflect parish policies.
“We do not say ‘no’ to anyone for a funeral service ... The gospel we preach doesn’t judge,” Cooper said in an interview. “We extend our deepest apologies to Larry’s family.”
He added that the family planned to rent the hall in the church’s basement and did not request the presence of a priest, which is why he didn’t learn of the situation until later in the week.
A church volunteer made the comments to an employee of the funeral home organizing Larry’s service when she called to get more details about the service, said Blake Sittler, director of pastoral services for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon. He said the funeral home then relayed the comments to Frazer.
“It was a serious error in judgment,” Sittler said in an interview, adding that it’s unclear why the volunteer cancelled the booking.
Frazer died from a super-bug infection and medical complications, Stinson said. A service will be held Sept. 29 at the Royal Canadian Legion.