Woman says stranger’s ashes in father’s urn, sues for $2.5 million

PORTLAND – A Portland woman is suing an Oregon cremation company for $2.5 million, claiming it gave her the remains of a stranger instead of her deceased father.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Tuesday that 53-year-old Kimberly Grecco discovered the remains were her father as she prepared to spread the ashes on Father’s Day last year.

Grecco wrote in the suit that she opened the box from Crown Memorial Center only to find a toe tag indicating the remains belonged to someone else.

She is suing Cascade Funeral Directors Inc., which does business as Crown Memorial Center as well as Cascade Cremation Center, and its president, Randy Tjaden.

The company previously assumed responsibility for the blunder and was reprimanded by a state licensing board earlier this year.