Funeral director suspended

A southwest Iowa funeral director’s license has been suspended following allegations of sexual and verbal harassment and other unprofessional behavior at his funeral home.

The Iowa Board of Mortuary Science ruled against Mark Kessler of Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon. He was barred from supervising interns and ordered to pay $1,405 in penalties and fees.

Kessler has appealed the board’s decision, he said Friday. He declined to comment further.

The board’s initial decision in October put Kessler’s license on probation, but the state appealed, asking for a harsher penalty. A second hearing resulted in Kessler’s suspension this month.

A former intern filed a complaint with the board in June 2007, saying Kessler had verbally and sexually harassed her at work. The intern, who is a lesbian, alleged that Kessler frequently used derogatory comments to refer to her sexual orientation.

The intern alleged that Kessler showed up at her house drunk on several occasions, which he denied.

She said he threw things at her, including newspapers, tent stakes and a dirty washcloth he had just used in the shower. The intern also said Kessler asked her for oral sex and said she wouldn’t get a raise unless she had sex with him.

The mortuary board’s report on the matter did not indicate Kessler’s response to those allegations.

The intern, at Kessler’s request, looked at guns being sold through an estate and said she heard Kessler make comments about wanting to kill his wife, from whom he was estranged.

Kessler said he did send the intern to look at guns but that she might have misconstrued a joke made by a different employee about his wife.

According to the board’s order, Kessler admitted keeping a beer keg in the basement of the funeral home but said he did not drink while working.

In its decision, the Iowa Board of Mortuary Science called some of Kessler’s statements “inconsistent and self-serving.”

Iowa law allows the discipline of professional license holders if they engage in unethical behavior, including verbal abuse.

While the appeal is pending, Kessler said, the funeral home is open but has another licensed funeral director. Kessler said he is still managing the operation, although his duties are limited.

Under the suspension, Kessler is not allowed to participate in embalming, removing a body, meeting with a family to arrange a funeral or providing a funeral. All of those duties need to be handled by another funeral director.

Contact the writer:

444-1310, elizabeth.ahlin@owh.com

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