Gary Coleman Finally Cremated as Lawyer Takes Charge

SALT LAKE CITY — After being held up by legal wrangling for nearly three weeks, the cremation of Gary Coleman's remains took place Thursday the way the late actor wanted — without any fanfare, the attorney named to oversee the estate said.Attorney Robert Jeffs said in a statement the remains were cremated at 5:15 p.m. at a mortuary in Sandy, a Salt Lake City suburb.

"The proceeding was conducted in accordance with Mr. Coleman's desires as expressed in his will that no funeral service, wake or other ceremony memorialize his passing," the brief statement said.
Jeffs revealed earlier this week that Coleman's 2005 will specified he wanted no funeral. That document trumped a 1999 will in which Coleman said he wanted to be remembered in a wake conducted by people who had no financial ties to him and "can look each other in the eyes and say they really cared personally for Gary Coleman."


The former child TV star died May 28 at the age of 42 after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He had fallen two days earlier at his home in Santaquin, about 55 miles south of Salt Lake City.Coleman's cremation had been on hold because of a dispute over his assets between his ex-wife, Shannon Price, and ex-girlfriend, Anna Gray. Both contend they are the lawful administrators of his estate.On Monday, a Utah judge appointed Jeffs to oversee Coleman's property and the cremation of Coleman's remains until the dispute is settled.Jeffs has said Coleman's ashes and property will be securely stored until a final determination is made on an estate executor. It's a decision Jeffs said could take months.
Coleman's 1999 will named Dion Mial, one of Coleman's friends and former managers, who on Monday withdrew his petition to be named as the special administrator of Coleman's estate. Mial's attorney said the 2005 will, which names Gray as administrator, takes precedence because it is more recent.Price is named in a 2007 handwritten note by Coleman that is intended to amend any earlier wills. The note names Price as the sole heir of Coleman's earnings, home, toy trains and other property.
"I made this change of free will and was not coerced in any way," says the note dated Sept. 4, 2007, less than a month after Coleman and Price married. "This I have done because of my personal selfishness and my weakness and I love her with all my heart."Price and Coleman met in 2005 on the set of the comedy "Church Ball." They divorced in 2008.
Coleman was still conscious when he was taken to a hospital in Provo on May 26 but slipped into unconsciousness the next day and was placed on life support. It was Price who ordered that Coleman be taken off life support. In 2006, Coleman signed documents giving Price legal authority to make medical decisions for him if he couldn't.
Lawyer: Coleman’s ex was ‘harsh’ and ‘domineering’
As the battle for control of Gary Coleman’s estate rages on between the actor’s ex-wife and ex-girlfriend, his former attorney Randy Kester took a break from the legal fray to slam the side he isn’t supporting. In an interview with Radar Online, Kester accused Coleman’s ex-wife, Shannon Price, of treating the star cruelly during her marriage to the “Diff’rent Strokes” actor.
Kester, who represented Coleman in recent years, claimed the couple had a troubling dynamic and that Price routinely disrespected the actor, “frequently (calling) him stupid,” and even made “comments about his stature.” And Price’s alleged problems with Coleman didn’t end with name-calling.
“It was awful. The neighbors take on Shannon is that they didn’t ever understand the relationship,” Kester recalled. “Many of them would come over and carry Gary, when he was very ill, out of the car and into the home ... and (they) have made comments about how she just kind of didn’t seem to care. She was more concerned with getting her packages into the house than making sure that Gary was brought safely into the home.”
In the end, Kester considered it “an inappropriate relationship” and simply witnessing it disturbed him.
“Shannon’s treatment of Gary was harsh and it was domineering, and it always bothered me,” the lawyer explained.
*Poor Gary, he had a pretty harsh life. People used and abused him, including his own parents. All he wanted was what all of us want; to be loved for himself. I hope you are at peace now Gary.