Empty casket left outside Iqaluit church was part of a “big miscommunication,” says funeral director

Iqaluit’s only funeral director found himself at the receiving end of a lot of angry social media comments this week, after a photo was circulated of a casket sitting on the steps of St Jude’s Cathedral early on Wednesday morning.

Jaffar Gebara said the whole situation was the result of a “big miscommunication” between the church and his business, and that the casket—which was empty—was mistakenly moved outside the building by a family holding a funeral on Tuesday, June 11.

“I couldn’t sleep last night. My stomach was turning,” Gebara told Nunatsiaq News on Thursday, June 13, following a flurry of social media comments prompted by a photo of the casket shared on Facebook and Twitter by CBC Nunavut.

There is a casket on the front steps of St. Jude’s Anglican church in Iqaluit. It’s not clear why the casket is there but it is empty. It looks like it may have been dropped off to be used later. We will bring you more details on this story as soon as we get them. pic.twitter.com/QZKz8HB0Ws

— Kieran Oudshoorn (@kjcoud) June 12, 2019

Gebara said he didn’t receive any notification from the family or church prior to Tuesday’s service. He asks families to give him at least 48 hours’ notice of a service.

“I had no knowledge of a funeral happening on Tuesday,” he said.

Gebara had been preparing for a different funeral that was scheduled to be held on Wednesday, June 12. He said he stopped by the church on Tuesday to drop off an empty casket that was to be used during Wednesday’s service, and then left.

The family holding the Tuesday funeral arrived at the church that day, found the casket sitting inside, and assumed it was their loved one, Gebara said.

The family soon realized the casket was empty, he said.

Out of respect for the families, Nunatsiaq News has chosen not to name either family.

It is unclear why, but at some point, the family holding Tuesday’s funeral removed the casket from the church and placed it where it was discovered on Wednesday morning, said Gebara.

“That was never supposed to be removed,” he said. “It was meant for another service on Wednesday. It’s coincidence and bad timing, and bad communication all together.”

“It should have remained in the church and there’s no reason why it should have been removed from the church.”

A friend of Gebara was driving by the church and noticed the casket lying outside on the steps. Gebara said his friend contacted him immediately and removed the casket from where it had been left.

Gebara said he does not want to upset the family, but wanted to clear the air about what happened.

“The damage is done. It’s a small town. It’s like the telephone game when you were kids, it gets passed on and on,” he said.

Gebara said at the time, he was confused about why the church’s minister, Methuselah Kunuk, had not contacted him about the casket and the funeral being held on Tuesday. Kunuk apologized to him soon after, Gebara said.

Nunatsiaq News reached out to Kunuk, who confirmed Gebara’s story but did not offer further comment.

When Gebara spoke to Nunatsiaq News on June 13, he said he had been unsuccessful in his attempts to contact both families.

Nunatsiaq News was unable to reach either family for comment by the time this story was published.