This is a story of a government agency gone rogue and in the process killed one of their most respected senior citizen’s and destroyed the lives of her caregivers, simply because of the lack of a proper investigation. They took action based on assumptions, not on facts which were readily available.
Unfortunately, this anti-dignity board decided that they didn’t need all the facts before they acted. In doing so, they directly caused the death of my oldest and best friend, Margaret Dempsey.
In their action, the Pinal County Fiduciary department’s anti-dignity board, Geraldine Roll and Ernie Appel, deemed it best, to take Margaret’s estate completely away from her, before she died. As I had moved everything I owned into Margaret’s home long before, to take care of her, they auctioned off what was left of my estate also. This was all done without my knowledge or (as Margaret’s appointed guardian) my approval.
It didn’t matter what Margaret’s wishes were in this case (she wanted to die in her home). It didn’t matter that Margaret couldn’t qualify for hospice while I was taking care of her. (She was too healthy.) It didn’t matter that Margaret was one of the founding members of the Catholic Daughters of America, Arizona Chapter at St. Georges Catholic Church. It didn’t matter that she had lived in her house for over 40 years doing nothing more than helping other people in need.
All that seemed to matter, was that they were determined to not let Margaret live out her life in her own home. They probably thought, that they were “protecting” Margaret. Yet, Margaret is dead, now. And she didn’t die how she wanted to. She died penniless, alone, unwanted and in a completely strange place. Not what she wanted or deserved. Apparently they weren’t concerned about where she wanted to live, or die.
Because of this, her death is directly due to the action of the (?)honorable Judge Lawrence M Wharton, who based his decisions on incomplete and erroneous evidence. His decision to remove Margaret’s caregivers and remove her from her home, stole Margaret’s dignity and took her life. He never asked any questions of her primary caregiver and in doing so, his action forced Margaret into a group home to die, something she had long fought……to no avail.
The minute they moved Margaret out of her house, they robbed her of all her dignity. This is clear evidence that the Pinal County Adult Protective Services and the Fiduciary department is not dignity minded. They don’t really care how their seniors live or if they have any dignity left at the end of their life.
This is how Pinal County Murdered one of its most respected seniors. Did they do this legally? I don’t know, but if they can kill Margaret in this fashion, what’s to keep them from doing it to you or anyone in your family?
If you live in Pinal County, you have a few choices;
- Move out of Pinal County
- Push to change the law
- Push to change gov depts; County Fiduciary and Adult Protect Services
- Donate to our Preservation of Dignity fund to keep this from happening again. (You don’t have to live in Pinal County to donate.)
For me, my estate is already gone. I lost my best friend and who would have been my lover had she been 30 years younger. I’ve lost my piano, which I’ve never had to live without for my entire life. I’ve lost inventory for my business (which is now all but defunct). I’ve lost thousands of household items. And worst of all I’ve lost most of my dignity.
Don’t wait for this to happen to you. Be Proactive.
Preserve Your Dignity!