NVERNESS, Fla. - The oldest daughter of Ted Williams is demanding proof
that the baseball legend wanted to be frozen after his death.
A lawyer for Bobby-Jo Williams Ferrell, who is feuding with her siblings
over their father's remains, has filed a motion to compel the other parties to submit any documents that show Williams changed
his mind about being cremated, which he requested in his will.
''Show me or tell me,'' Richard Fitzpatrick, Ferrell's lawyer, told the
St. Petersburg Times for a story published yesterday.
''I want to see what kind of paper trail there is out there.''
Williams's two children from another marriage, John-Henry Williams and
Claudia Williams, and the estate's executor, Al Cassidy, have 30 days to respond.
The motion, filed Thursday, also asks for any letters or contracts between
them and Alcor Life Extension Foundation, where Williams's body was sent hours after his death July 5.
Ferrell, 54, is seeking to retrieve her father's body from the Arizona
lab, cremate it, and sprinkle his ashes off the coast of the Florida Keys, as Williams's will dictates.
But Cassidy and the two other children said the Red Sox legend had a
change of heart after the will was drafted in December 1996 and wanted to be cyronically preserved.
In court papers filed last week, John-Henry and Claudia Williams argued
they were the sole owners of their father's body, and that not even the executor of the estate could challenge their authority.
Through their lawyer, the siblings said that their father's will was
not the final authority on his last wishes.
''The last will of Theodore S. Williams does not control the disposition
of his body,'' their motion said.
Fitzpatrick responded Friday, arguing that Florida courts had ruled that
it is the executor of an estate - not the children - who has ultimate responsibility for carrying out a person's last wishes
as outlined in a will.
Neither attorneys for John-Henry and Claudia Williams, nor the lawyer
for Cassidy, returned telephone messages seeking comment yesterday.
