Casey Kasem‘s final resting place will apparently be in Oslo, Norway. One may wonder why in the world the American Top 40 host will be buried in a locale far from his country of birth and where his family currently lives.
It seems Kasem’s widow has decided to take his remains with her when she moves to Norway in the near future. According to a spokeswoman for the funeral agency in Oslo, Kasem’s wife, Jean Kasem, cites her Norwegian heritage as one of the reasons for wanting to bury her late husband in Norway.
Kasem died June 15 in Washington at the age of 82. His death came after a lengthy and nasty battle among his wife and his three children from a previous marriage over the care of the beloved radio host, who was suffering from the end stages of Parkinson’s Disease.
Wife of #CaseyKasem cites her Norwegian heritage for wanting to bury her husband in Oslo: http://t.co/958d1V934w pic.twitter.com/Ib4Hwb5MLx
— Yahoo (@Yahoo) August 19, 2014
Casey Kasem to be buried in Norway, wife Jean Kasem plans to move there http://t.co/l0hNQpPCTP pic.twitter.com/5mMl1R6FLs
— TorontoStar (@TorontoStar) August 19, 2014
The spokeswoman for the funeral service agency in Oslo said Jean Kasem also told the agency she plans to move to Norway later this year and prefers to have her late husband buried nearby so she will be able to visit his grave.
It's not clear why an American radio icon will be buried in Scandinavia: http://t.co/Hs2bBo5R6P pic.twitter.com/mUlZ3naGf2
— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) August 18, 2014
According to Danny Deraney, a Los Angeles spokesman for the Kasem family , who are fighting against Jean Kasem’s plans to bury Kasem in Norway, the body is currently in Oslo but has yet to be buried.
Casey Kasem wife plans to bury him in Norway – contrary to Kasem's wishes http://t.co/gHsnHeNx9a pic.twitter.com/cXbOnKoeUs
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) August 15, 2014
Deraney said Tuesday that the family members have signed a letter saying Jean Kasem “doesn’t have an ounce of Norwegian blood” and confirmed what other friends have said — that Kasem wanted to be buried in Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles.