His sisters, Vivienne and Jean Honeyghan, say the mourners were unaware of the change until the 50-year-old’s body was laid to rest on the day of his funeral. At the time, it was too late to protest. Vivienne said bitterly: “They could not put my brother further away from my mother if they tried. “They made him look like the black sheep of the family.” READ MORE: Uninsured BMW driver convicted of killing 18-day-old baby in Walsall car crash To add to their agony, Clive, the father of seven, was placed on a plot soaked in water that the coffin went down, they say. Birmingham City Council met with the family on the spot in an effort to resolve the issue. They offered to exhume the body, at their own expense, and place it in the grave of another sister, Ionia Stephenson, who died just months after Clive, a Northfield painter and decorator. Local authorities told them they could not place Clive, one of the nine brothers, near the grave of Rita’s 40-year-old mother because this part of the cemetery is no longer used for burials. But support assistant Vivienne – cousin of former world boxing champion Lloyd Honeyghan – claims graves have been erected in the area since her brother’s funeral. Things have progressed since Clive’s death, from a brain tumor, in February 2020. The grandmother of his three youngest children died and was buried next to him. For the sake of these children, the family no longer wants his body exhumed. They want the council to pay for a memorial stone at Clive’s grave – in recognition of the mistakes made – and to apologize. They are supported by Bishop Desmond Jaddoo, who held the funeral at New Life Wesleyan Church in Handsworth in March 2020. For the bishop, the campaign is particularly painful. Clive died in his arms after the clergyman delivered the last rites. The dying man told Desmond in those last hours that he wanted to be buried near his mother. The bishop described the council’s handling of the issue as “bad” and “arrogant”. He says the authority no longer communicates with him or his family. Vivienne says she was too numb with grief on the day of the funeral to fully understand that her brother was buried in the wrong plot. He said: “Clive’s last wish was to be buried near his mother and that was agreed. That was the plan. On the day of the funeral, it did not sink, but I know it now. I know one of my brothers asked, “Why do we stop here?” During the day, sadness takes over your mind, sadness blinds you. “If I had known, then and there, it would have been the wrong place for me to stop in a fraction of a second. Many family members were completely upset, but, at that moment, what can you do? The same day, I contacted the undertaker and said, “it was not what was agreed.” I was assured that they would look into it and, to use their words, “heads would roll”. Vivienne claimed that she later learned that a decision had been made on the day of the funeral to change the plot: the one where Clive was to be buried had been flooded. However, they put him in a lake of a tomb. “Even the bishop asked if anything could be done to stop the water being poured,” he said. “We paid so much money for this grave. We are a close family. He is miles away from the rest of his family. His last wish did not come true. The council was confused. We want them to take responsibility, we want an apology stating that they have done it “. These feelings are repeated by Sister Jean. The 56-year-old from Handsworth said: “I think they handled that terribly. Now, the council is not responding to our demands, they are just silencing us. “I was very upset that day to observe what was happening, I just assumed it was the right place. They had to take me away because I was so upset that I fainted. We do not ask for money, we just want it neatly. Our brother is not in the right place. “I’m so emotional about it, it has collapsed.” Clive Stephenson was buried in the wrong grave in Handsworth Cemetery. Bishop Jaddoo is currently trying to find a solution. He told the Sunday Mercury: “I think the family was treated unfairly, they were never told that the grave was to be moved. “It simply came to our notice then. They no longer want to move their brother, they do not want to go through the trauma again. His last wish was to be buried as close as possible to his mother. He was buried on the edge of Handsworth Cemetery, he could not be further from his mother’s grave. “Birmingham City Council has failed to consult with the family, which shows arrogance on the part of the council.” A spokesman for the local authority told the Sunday Mercury: “Unfortunately, the request to bury the late Mr Stephenson as close as possible to his mother’s grave was not carried to Handsworth Cemetery before the funeral. However, any request to locate a grave in a specific area can not be secured due to the uncertainty of the soil conditions and the bureaucracy signed by the family of the late Mr. Stephenson makes it clear. Read more related articles Read more related articles “On that day, extremely heavy rainfall and high water levels had made it impossible to excavate the area where the late Mr. Stephenson was to be buried and thus, according to the terms and conditions of the cemetery, the nearest available traditional style. tomb, used. “The council is now in discussions with the family and Desmond Jadoo to seek a solution. The city immediately apologized to the family for the understandable inconvenience caused by these events when they came to our notice and explained the reasons behind it.” Stay up to date with the latest from the area with ours Updates via email . Read more related articles Read more related articles
