NORMAN, Okla. – David Dill is suffering from a broken heart.
Parents are supposed to out-live their children.
Nothing could prepare David to bury his second born son, Dana.
Just 35 years-old, Dana was a rabid Yankees and Saints fan, but it was his passion for food that fueled his appetite for life.
“He worked for Nola Restaurant in New Orleans, which was owned by Emeril Lagasse,” David said.
His son just traded in his chef’s coat for a hard hat.
Dana recently moved back to Oklahoma and was working in an oil field.
David says his son was taking pain meds to cope with a work injury.
His grandmother found him dead.
“She went in to wake him up the following morning at 10 a.m. to wake him up and he didn’t wake up,” David said.
Dana passed just weeks before Christmas.
His parents immediately tried cancelling their travel reservations with United Airlines for their trip to see family in Virginia.
“The final conversation she had with United rep was she could find everything she needed on the internet and this person wasn’t willing to walk her through give her any kind of instructions. She kind of said, that’s your problem.
We checked with a number of airlines, including United and most will issue a refund for tickets when there’s a death in the family, but only after the traveler produces a certified death certificate.
Problem is, obtaining a death certificate from the state typically takes weeks, if not months.
There’s no telling how long the Dills could be waiting for Dana’s.
“I would like a refund of my airline tickets,” David said. “I just think that’s the fair thing to do under these circumstances.”
We reached out to United Airlines.
Thursday, a company spokesperson apologized and said it’s, “reaching out to the Dills to clear up any confusion with the couple’s initial calls.”
United plans to smooth things over and will expedite the Dill’s refund just as soon as they can.
We’ll check back.
