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Officials wonder where mans ashes have been for 30 years

Written by DeadGirl
Friday, 16 July 2004
Officials wonder where man's ashes have been for 30 years July 16, 2004 Associated Press BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -- Thirty years after Ray Smith's remains were cremated in Massachusetts, his ashes have shown up at a local cemetary. "We're just trying to find out where Ray's been for the past 30 years," said Brattleboro Police Capt. Steven Rowell. The ashes were found Thursday when officials unlocked the cemetary gate. They were in a cardboard box; inside was a death certificate for Smith, who was born in Dover and whose family had a plot at the cemetary. Smith died in 1974 at the age of 86. Following his death a service for Smith was held at the now-defunct Allen Funeral Home in Malden, Mass., said Rowell. Smith's body was then taken to the Woodlawn Crematorium in Everett, Mass., where his remains were later picked up by an unidentified party. Investigators don't know where Smith's remains went after his cremation, Rowell said. Officials at the crematorium declined to identify who received the man's remains, stating that information was confidential. Malden City Clerk Karen Anderson said there was speculation around her office that someone may have brought the remains to Vermont, where they may have been forgotten. According to city documents, Smith spent several months at the Dexter House, a retirement home in Malden, Anderson said. Before that he lived almost 60 years in Medford, Mass. Anderson also noted that Smith had another connection to Vermont: his mother was from Dover and his father was from Halifax. "The cardboard box was found outside the cemetery gate in the morning," said Rowell. "The cremation certificate was in the box, which indicated that it was indeed Mr. Smith." At the cemetery a gravestone bearing Smith's name is erected on what appears to be a family plot. The name of Smith's wife, Marguerite F. Smith, who apparently died in 1935, is also on the gravestone. Smith and his wife had at least two sons, Leslie R. Smith and Elliot H. Smith, who now would be in their 80s. Rowell said the box was addressed to the cemetery in 1974. He believes the box was delivered to the cemetery shortly after Smith's death but never made it to the grave. He said police would continue their search for one of Smith's family members. If none can be found within a reasonable amount of time, he said, arrangements will be made to inter Smith in his final resting place.

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Taphophilia?

taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)

ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"

DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries