Las Vegas family, hit by troubled funeral home, says goodbye to loved one

Fischele Mixon’s son, Jamell Johnson, will remember her as a wonderful person.

“She was a family person, kind,” said Johnson. “She took care of a lot of kids.”

When Mixon, 60, died on July 31 from cancer, the family made arrangements for an open casket funeral with McDermott’s Funeral Home and Cremation Service. After the Las Vegas funeral home’s license was revoked two weeks ago and Mixon’s body was moved to Davis Funeral Home & Memorial Park, they learned an open casket would be impossible due to her body’s condition.

During its quarterly meeting this month, the Nevada State Board of Funeral & Cemetery Services revoked the license of the business’s owner and funeral director, Chris Grant. The board took the action after hearing two complaints: one that alleged the funeral home had failed to dispose of eight bodies in a timely manner, and the other that alleged it had improperly stored bodies.

A total of 146 bodies were recovered from McDermott’s, including Mixon’s, after the funeral home was shut down, according to a spokesperson for the coroner’s office. All bodies were transferred to Davis and have been identified.

A closed casket funeral for Mixon was held on Saturday at Las Vegas Cremations, a Davis property, with a memorial service being held at Johnson’s Las Vegas home following the service. Johnson said having it closed casket “made it a big difference.”

“A lot of my family and I expected to see my mom one last time, but it wasn’t able to happen,” said Johnson. “Also with me paying for a viewing and not being able to have it.”

Johnson said he had already placed a $1,000 deposit with McDermott’s prior to closure, which he said he still has not been refunded for. Davis honored the price he was contracted for with McDermott’s, Johnson said, which Johnson said ended up at around $4,500, and the original date.

Even with the price being honored, Johnson and his wife Krystle had to send out new invites with updated addresses and replan the funeral.

“To this day, I haven’t heard one word from this funeral home when I had signed documents and already gave a deposit up,” said Johnson.

Attempts to reach Chris Grant since Aug. 11 have been unsuccessful.

Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.