Wife to bury Casey Kasem in Norway, cites heritage

The wife of U.S. radio personality Casey Kasem has cited her Norwegian heritage as one of the reasons for burying her late husband in Oslo, a spokeswoman for the funeral service agency there said Tuesday.

Kasem, the host of “American Top 40,” died June 15 in Washington at age 82. His death followed a lengthy battle over his care between his wife, Jean Kasem, and his three adult children from his first marriage.

Wenche Madsen Eriksson, spokeswoman for the funeral service agency in the Norwegian capital, said Jean Kasem also told the agency of plans to move to Norway later this year and said having her late husband interred there would allow her to visit him.

Casey Kasem’s publicist, Danny Deraney, has said that would be contrary to Kasem’s wishes, saying that Kasem had told both friends and family that he wanted to be buried in Los Angeles.

This story was originally published August 19, 2014 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Wife to bury Casey Kasem in Norway, cites heritage."