X-Message-Number: 32401 Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:57:50 -0700 Subject: "Organization battles to freeze local woman's head" From: MARK PLUS <> http://www.newsfirst5.com/news/organization-battles-to-freeze-local-womans-head/ Organization battles to freeze local woman's head By Greg Boyce Posted : Feb 18, 2010 5:15 PM Updated: Feb 18, 2010 7:17 PM An Arizona organization wants to remove, and freeze the head of an elderly Colorado Springs woman who died last week, honoring an agreement it had with the woman. Mary Robbins, 71, of Colorado Springs died on February 9, after a two-month battle with cancer. Her body remains in a local mortuary. According to her family, in 2006 she had signed an agreement with a company called Alcor Life Extension Foundation to have her body frozen. According to the agreement Alcor would get $50,000 from her estate. The freezing process is called cryonics and as defined on the Alcor website is, "the science of using ultra-cold temperature to preserve human life with the intent of restoring good health when technology becomes available to do so." According to daughter Darlene Robbins of Pueblo, her mother changed her mind about the cryonic process a couple of days before her death. She changed her will and removed Alcor as a beneficiary and removed the necklace that Alcor clients wear. But Robbins said the day after her mother died, Alcor laid claim to the body. Since then an Alcor representative, according to Robbins, has been packing her mother's head in dry ice each day at the mortuary. Robbins says she can't bear the thought of her mother's head being removed and stored in Arizona. The case will be heard in probate court in Colorado Springs Friday. Family attorney Robert Scranton of Colorado Springs says the proceeding is a status conference and will likely be brief. He does not expect any testimony to be heard. Alcor is represented by the law firm Holme Roberts and Owen, which has offices in many states including Arizona and Colorado. Our attempts to reach the attorney in this case, as well as Alcor, were not successful Thursday. Alcor is a non-profit organization located in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was founded in 1972. -- Mark Plus Life is short: Freeze hard! Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=32401