Funeral director arrested again for drunk driving; facing empty-urn burial charges.

Thomas Clock III

MUSKEGON COUNTY — The owner of a Ludington funeral home who is facing felony charges for allegedly burying an empty urn without cremating the deceased person, along with drunk driving charges, was arrested again today.

Thomas Claude Clock III, 60, who owns Clock Funeral Home of Ludington, Inc. and Clock Funeral Home of Whitehall, Inc., was arrested by Whitehall Police Department early this morning, Friday, March 11, 2016, and charged with second offense operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, according to a mlive.com report.

Clock was arrested in January for OWI. Following his arrest, the deceased body of an 86-year-old woman was found in the block of Clock’s funeral van. Clock, who was also hospitalized after the January arrest, allegedly buried an empty urn, misleading family members who believed it contained her cremated ashes.

The empty urn was buried in a local cemetery after a funeral service Dec. 28, prosecutors said.

Muskegon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Timothy M. Maat told mlive.com that Clock was driving eastbound on Dowling Street in Montague around 1 a.m. Friday when a Whitehall Police Department officer pulled him over for erratic driving. Clock was arrested and lodged in the Muskegon County Jail.

Though his January arrest was a second offense, he has not yet been convicted. Therefore he cannot be charged with felony third-offense OWI charges.

Clock also faces charges of common-law fraud and attempted larceny by conversion more than $1,000 and less than $20,000 for allegedly deceiving the family of Helen Beatrice Anthony, who died on Dec. 3, 2015 and burying the empty urn.

Clock Funeral Homes of Ludington and Whitehall are not affiliated with Clock Funeral Homes of Muskegon, Fruitport and Grand Haven.