BOZEMAN — As people die within Gallatin County, family or friends do not claim some of them, and their remains are left at the funeral home or coroner’s office. Efforts are made to locate loved ones who might arrange a proper burial, but when those efforts fail, the person is cremated, and their ashes are stored.
Chris Remely has been the funeral director at Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service for nearly 30 years.
“Each one of these urns was someone's life, and they have a story,” says Remely.
Remely has seen dozens of people who have passed away and been unclaimed.
“And to neglect them and not honor them because perhaps there's not a family member here, we are going to do our best to honor them,” Remely says.
Between 1922 and 2020, 66 people died in Gallatin County and remain unclaimed.
“Inevitably, the urns have been here for that period of time, and each situation was a little bit different as to why they were left here. Some, it was a misunderstanding; others, there just wasn't any family to pick them up and take them to a permanent location,” Remely says.
Funeral director Bailey Krause says her job is to care for all.
“There are just circumstances where no family comes forward, and we still need to do right by that individual to make sure they are cared for,” Krause says.
Dokken-Nelson published a list of the names of these unclaimed remains.
With the help of social media, many families came forward to claim their loved ones.
“We had an individual come forward, and he said, ‘My grandpa is on that list.’ And when I asked, ‘How old are you?’ He was 90 years old and just found out that his grandpa was in our care, so to have that come full circle in that time frame that they did was so cool,” Krause says.
They are gone, but remembered.
“Their grandson, who's 90 years old, is now taking their grandfather home. That's perfect. That is a success story, whether they stay in our care and go to the cemetery or not,” Remely says.
The reunions are long overdue.
“We weren't able to get ahold of people for decades, and now, all of a sudden, to have people come forward and take these urns home, that's great,” Remely adds.
After the list was published, Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer began hearing stories of some of the individuals—like Anne Riddle, who died in 1978.
“She was a big community member. Then, she became mentally ill in the later stages of her life. She probably died fairly lonely,” Sheriff Springer says.
Now, the community has come together to hold a funeral service on Dec. 10 for those left unclaimed.
According to a press release, “The unclaimed urns will be buried at the Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 1:30 PM. A reading of the names and a prayer by the Gallatin County Chaplain will be performed graveside. This event will be open to the public.
The City of Bozeman donated a plot of land to Sunset Hills Cemetery.
“That's one nice thing about being in a small community like this; many of us are tied to someone from this community. Even if they don't have direct family members, people knew them.”
At the end of the day: “We recognize that maybe you were forgotten at the end, but your life did matter,” Sheriff Springer says.
To view a list of the names of people whose remains will be laid to rest, click here.
