Mortician’s License Reinstated, Case Reviewed

The owner of a Butte cremation service will be able to continue his business while a state board reviews complaints that he was performing mortuary services at a crematorium.

Jim Axelson of Axelson Alternative Cremations told The Montana Standard that the Montana Department of Labor and Industry lifted the suspension of his mortician's license Tuesday. Last week, the state's Board of Funeral Services took "emergency action" and suspended his license.

The board found Axelson was using his brother's crematory as a mortuary to store and prepare bodies for cremation, including surgically removing pacemakers and other hazardous implants without the proper facilities.

The state's decision to lift Axelson's suspension requires him to place bodies in cremation containers at a licensed mortuary before they are cremated.