{"id":38269,"date":"2019-11-20T23:33:32","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T23:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/11\/20\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:48:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:48:29","slug":"cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/11\/20\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\/","title":{"rendered":"Cease and desist: Funeral on hold for Marine who drowned on his wedding day as family fights over his remains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The funeral home managing the remains of a Marine master sergeant who died on his wedding day has agreed to obey a cease and desist letter sent by a lawyer representing the Marine\u2019s new wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marine Master Sgt. Jeff Briar<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/marine-corps-times\/2019\/10\/02\/california-marine-dies-attempting-to-save-children\/\" target=\"_blank\"> drowned the evening of Sept. 22<\/a> attempting to save two children caught in an ocean rip current near San Diego. It also was his wedding day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, a disagreement over what will happen to the Marine\u2019s remains and who is in charge of the decision has put his cemetery burial on hold. Briar\u2019s parents had requested that the Corps bury him in a national cemetery, while Jennifer Crowley insists that she and Briar were married and that her husband\u2019s final wishes were to be cremated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After it was determined that Briar was not eligible to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, he was scheduled to be buried at Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2019\/10\/02\/california-marine-dies-attempting-to-save-children\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"162\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Q2F5EI7RDBGMRGER4UWBISVEQE.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">California Marine dies attempting to save children<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">According to a GoFundMe page for Briar\u2019s family. the Marine died on his wedding day after he and his children got caught in the tide.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The funeral home has agreed to hold the body until a Virginia court rules on who can decide what happens to Briar or a written agreement is made between Crowley and the Marine\u2019s parents, Toni O\u2019Neill, a retired Air Force judge advocate general officer with Patriots Law Group who is representing Jennifer Crowley, told Marine Corps Times Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marine Corps confirmed that the funeral is on hold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A memorial ceremony was held for Briar at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 12. Both of Briar\u2019s parents as well as Crowley attended the Arlington ceremony and were recipients of an American flag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Closest living relative <\/b> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marine master sergeant had married Jennifer Crowley on the San Diego beach on Sept. 22, Crowley told Marine Corps Times in a Sunday phone interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was not long after that he left this Earth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Jeff Briar\u2019s mother, Debbie Robinson, previously said that the ceremony was not a wedding but something closer to a promise ceremony, emphasizing that the couple did not have a marriage license, she told Marine Corps Times in an Oct. 2 phone interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crowley confirmed the couple did not have a marriage license at the time of the ceremony because Briar could not take time off from his unit \u2015 Headquarters Battalion, Tactical Training Exercise Control Group in Twentynine Palms, California \u2015 in time to make their appointment with the court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But she insisted even without the license both she and Briar were married after the September ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe had discussed wanting something bigger,\u201d Crowley told Marine Corps Times. \u201cBut the Marine Corps was getting in the way.&#8221; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said what took place \u201cwas our ceremony. We had our witnesses; we had our ordained minister.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crowley ultimately received a court-ordered marriage license after Briar\u2019s death, confirming that the couple were married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the Marine Corps assigned Briar\u2019s father as the person authorized to direct disposition, known as a PADD, immediately after Jeff Briar\u2019s death because he was the closest living relative on record, a Marine Corps spokesman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A casualty assistance officer sat down with the master sergeant\u2019s father three days after his son\u2019s death, filing paperwork and the request that Briar be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, Maj. Craig Thomas, a Marine Corps spokesman said in an email to Marine Corps Times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the time Crowley did not have the marriage license necessary to make her claim to become the PADD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, Crowley has sent the license to the Corps, but it is still being processed, Thomas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If validated, the Corps will recognize her as a dependent spouse, enter her into the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System and reimburse her for travel expenses she incurred attending the funeral services, Thomas said. But the Corps does not plan on appointing Crowley as the PADD, even if the license is accepted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Robinson did not wish to comment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Final wishes <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marine Corps \u201cknows that the state of California recognizes them as legally married &#8230; but they are refusing to change it,\u201d Toni O\u2019Neill, a retired Air Force judge advocate general officer with Patriots Law Group who represents Jennifer Crowley, said in a phone call Wednesday night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What her client is asking puts the Marine Corps in an awkward position, O\u2019Neill said \u2015 going back to grieving parents who originally were told they could decide how their son\u2019s body will be laid to rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI understand it\u2019s uncomfortable and that nobody wants to do it,\u201d she said, &#8220;but that\u2019s the right thing to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crowley said she discussed cremation with Briar after they attended a friend\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe talked about it and we both said we wanted to be cremated,\u201d Crowley said. She added that they planned to have their ashes collected into the same urn so they could spend the rest of time together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a last minute attempt to stop the burial, O\u2019Neill sent a cease and desist letter to the funeral home currently taking care of Briar\u2019s body, telling them not to release the body to anyone but Crowley without her consent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re happy that the funeral home was willing to take her wishes into consideration and will let the courts decide who has the authority,\u201d O\u2019Neill said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crowley said the process has been hard, but she will stop at nothing to do what she feels is right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt has been a nightmare, but it\u2019s worth it,&#8221; she said. \u201cI will walk to the ends of the earth to do whatever it takes to make sure my husband\u2019s wishes are carried out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marine Master Sgt. Jeff Briar was scheduled to be buried Wednesday at Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":42400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3287],"class_list":["post-38269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"C2VUT7ODURHUPDF6ORHC2SW4SA","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2019\/11\/20\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cease and desist: Funeral on hold for Marine who drowned on his wedding day as family fights over his remains - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Marine Master Sgt. Jeff Briar was scheduled to be buried Wednesday at Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cease and desist: Funeral on hold for Marine who drowned on his wedding day as family fights over his remains\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Marine Master Sgt. Jeff Briar was scheduled to be buried Wednesday at Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/11\/20\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-20T23:33:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T20:48:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Athey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Athey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/20\\\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/20\\\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Cease and desist: Funeral on hold for Marine who drowned on his wedding day as family fights over his remains\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-11-20T23:33:32+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T20:48:29+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/20\\\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 951,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/20\\\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/4068709.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"News\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/20\\\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/20\\\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/20\\\/cease-and-desist-funeral-on-hold-for-marine-who-drowned-on-his-wedding-day-as-family-fights-over-his-remains\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Cease and desist: Funeral on hold for Marine who drowned on his wedding day as family fights over his remains - 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