AUSTIN—Years after a man donated his body to science, his family is fighting with the medical school for the remains still left.

The family of Rolia Whitinger, of New Braunfels, wants to bury the World War II veteran at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.

“He was a WWII veteran and deserves to be buried as he is,” said John Whitinger, Rolia Whitinger’s son. “I want them to leave him alone.”

But the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston said it would return the remains—his head, shoulders, arms and knees—only if the family agreed to have them cremated. State Anatomical Board rules require the body parts’ cremation, the school said.

Rolia Whitinger died in 2001 at the age of 85 and donated his body for medical research. His family was among those who requested the remains after the body was used for scientific research or for teaching medical students, said UT Medical Branch spokeswoman Marsha Canright.

The school informed the Whitingers in June 2002 that Rolia Whitinger’s ashes would be arriving soon. But the following month, the school sent a letter saying it wouldn’t be sending the ashes after all. UT Medical Branch officials had discovered the ashes of 78 donors had been commingled.

An investigation of the Willed Body Program uncovered an employee sold body parts and mixed the ashes of cremated bodies and that records were in disarray. UT Medical Branch fired the employee, Allen Tyler Jr., and the Willed Body Program was shut down in 2002.

Several suits were filed against UT Medical Branch, including one by the Whitingers. But as a state institution, UT Medical Branch is protected from lawsuits unless the Legislature approves of the suits. Resolutions by state lawmakers filed in 2005 and 2007 to allow the lawsuits by the Whitingers and the other families faltered.

Last year, the family learned from UT Medical Branch officials that they’d found Rolia Whitinger’s head, shoulders, arms and knees.

“It was shocking,” said Annabelle Whitinger, his widow. “It was horrible. It was like receiving the news like the dead hadn’t died and now they had.”

Annabelle Whitinger said she wonders why UT Medical Branch took so long to discover the remains and tell the family about them.

“They cremated everything, and they commingled everything, and five years later, they say, ’We found his head, shoulders and his knees,’ “ she said. “I said, ’Where did you find this, in a fishing box?’ “

Chuck Johnstone, associate vice president and chief legal officer for the school, said officials wanted to first conduct DNA tests to confirm the remains were Rolia Whitinger’s.

Last month, the medical school offered to send the remains to a funeral home, which was expected to do the cremation. But an agreement required the family to stop “disparaging UTMB” and release the school from any claims or demands for what happened in the willed body program.

“UTMB has been profoundly apologetic for everything that went on in the Willed Body Program,” Johnstone said. “Sometimes you have an employee who does bad things. ... Whipping UTMB is not going to change that.”

The family says they were angered by the offer and remain adamant about preserving the body parts, in case more are found.