Jacquelyn Deloatch’s frightening, apparently permanent, nightmare began three years ago when she ran for mayor of Compton.
The worst scenes are being played out today. Her husband Philip Jefferson, 89 years old, who died on Dec. 19, lies unburied 27 days later because Ms. Deloatch does not have enough money to cover the costs.
As a military veteran, Ms. Deloatch intends to have her husband buried, with the VA’s help, at the Riverside National Cemetery.
Desperate for aid, and to bring attention to her case, Ms. Deloatch wrote to President Obama this week, seeking his intervention.
She had no idea no idea her life and her modest funds swiftly would dissolve when she entered the 13-way race to become mayor of Compton in the spring of 2013.
Immediately after she finished in seventh place in the April election, if not earlier, “I realized politics is not for me,” Ms. Deloatch said. “Politics is not particular about helping the people. You have to know somebody. And you have to be willing to kiss up. I can’t do that.”
The mother of seven children, ranging in age from 45 to 37, she is asking for financial help from non-profit or charitable organizations to complete the most fundamental of responsibilities, burying her dead husband. Her email address is ez2learn@yahoo.com
In her letter to President Obama, Ms. Deloatch explains the circumstances:
”In August 2015, my husband, of 10 years, Philip Jefferson, walked into the VA hospital in Las Vegas. He was having some stomach cramps and constipation. The doctors determined that he had colon cancer. Surgery was necessary. Following the emergency surgery, he was unable to walk and was sent to Boulder City, Nevada to the Nevada State Home for rehabilitation. When my husband was rushed into surgery, he signed a Power of Attorney so his daughter, who lives in Las Vegas, could take care of his business while he recovered. When I arrived in Las Vegas, we discussed the Power Of Attorney and I felt it would be better to leave it in place until we got him back to California.
“He had been in Las Vegas since 2008 because we lost our home in California. We had planned to purchase a home in Nevada which would cost less. I was forced to stay in Los Angeles to continue working and for medical reasons.”
Ms. Deloatch said the funeral home has told her that “conservatively, it will cost $5,000 to bury him. The Nevada funeral home wants $1,100. Philip’s attorney friend has given me a check for $500 toward that amount.
“I am waiting for Social Security to check in with $255, which will help me come closer to paying off the Nevada funeral home.
“After I get them paid off, hopefully by Monday, they will ship the body here. The McKay Funeral home in Lawndale, the cheapest one I could find, wants $3400. They are going to accept payments.”
Ms. Deloatch said that when she entered the mayoralty race in Compton three years ago, “I spent a lot of money I could not afford, I ran up debt I could not afford.
“I lost my business (bail bonds and training center), and from there, things have gone downhill.”
She said that friends are helping to support her.
