IS IOWA’S NEWS LEADER KCCI 8 NEWS AT SIX STARTS RIGHT NOW. IT REALLY IS HEARTBREAKING TO THINK ABOUT, BUT WHEN SOME PEOPLE DIE, THEY DON’T HAVE ANY FAMILY MEMBERS OR FRIENDS WHO ARE ABLE TO CLAIM THEIR REMAINS. BUT A SMALL BUT MIGHTY GROUP OF CENTRAL IOWANS IS CHANGING THAT. I EMAILED AND EMAILED IT. EMAILED. IS IT STILL THERE? IT’S EARLY MARCH AND AT THE IOWA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, LENNY STRUTHERS, DENNIS ALLEN AND CHRIS NAGLE WITH THE FINAL SALUTE ARE ONCE AGAIN HARD AT WORK. IS THAT THE ONE SHE SAID SHE’D EMAIL ME, MAKING SURE THE SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN AREN’T. WE’RE REALLY WANTING PEOPLE TO COME AND HEAR THEIR STORIES AND HONOR THEM. MOST OF THEIR TIME HERE IS SPENT WORKING TO IDENTIFY VETERANS LEFT UNCLAIMED IN CENTRAL IOWA, WHO ARE THEN LAID TO REST AT THE IOWA VETERANS CEMETERY IN VAN METER. BUT IN 2024, THERE WAS THIS CEREMONY FOR DOZENS OF UNCLAIMED KIDS. AND IN 2019, ONE FOR NEARLY 90 CIVILIAN ADULTS. WE DON’T PICK OUT THE VETERANS AND SAY, HEY, WE’RE JUST GOING TO HONOR THEM. WE TAKE EVERYBODY. NOW THEY’VE IDENTIFIED CLOSE TO 200 MORE A FEW FOR THE TIME BEING. FINDING SHELTER UPSTAIRS IN THE SAME BUILDING. THEIR IDENTITIES WERE RECENTLY CONFIRMED. IF YOU LOOK AT A HEADSTONE, A LOT OF TIMES YOU SEE A BIRTH YEAR AND THEN A DASH AND THEN A DEATH YEAR. AND SO I ALWAYS GO BACK AND THINK ABOUT THE DASH, AND THAT’S TEACHERS AND PEOPLE THAT WORKED IN CONSTRUCTION AND THE RAILROAD AND FARMING. SOME ARE EVEN RELATED. WE HAVE A FATHER AND SON. WE HAVE SIBLINGS AND AVOIDED AS MANY AS 30 YEARS FOR A PROPER BURIAL. THESE ARE NOT INDIVIDUALS THAT NECESSARILY LED BAD LIVES OR MADE BAD LIFE DECISIONS. IT’S JUST FAMILY DYNAMICS. OR SOMETIMES THEY JUST OUTLIVED THEIR FAMILY. OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, MULTIPLE FUNERAL HOMES AND THE POLK COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER’S OFFICE HAVE HANDED OVER THEIR CREMATED REMAINS. IT’S A NATIONWIDE CRISIS THAT WE HAVE. THEIR WAIT FOR A PERMANENT RESTING PLACE FINALLY ENDS NEXT MONTH AT AVON CEMETERY. THEY’VE BEEN FAMILY TOGETHER IN HAMILTON’S AND AISLES. THEY’LL BE A FAMILY AGAIN. THEY’RE NEVER ALONE. NEVER FORGOTTEN. THAT BURIAL WILL TAKE PLACE AT 10 A.M. ON SATURDAY, APRIL 25TH AT AVON CEMETERY IN DES MOINES. IF YOU’D LIKE TO TAKE PART IN THE PROCESSION BEFOREHAND, YOU’RE A
‘Never alone’: Nonprofit to bury nearly 200 unclaimed cremated remains
Nearly 200 Iowans whose cremated remains were left unclaimed after they died will soon be laid to rest.The Final Salute, a nonprofit that works to identify and bury unclaimed veterans, is responsible for the upcoming sendoff.”We don’t pick out the veterans and say, hey, we’re just going to honor them. We take everybody,” Final Salute founder Lanae Strovers told Hearst sister station KCCI.This isn’t the first time Final Salute has done this.In 2019, they buried nearly 90 civilian adults. In 2024, there were dozens of unclaimed children who were laid to rest. These are all individuals Dennis Allen of the Final Salute says they worked to identify and learn as much as they could about their lives.”If you look at a headstone, a lot of times you see a birth year and then a dash and then a death year. And so I always go back and think about the dash. That’s their life,” Allen said.They’ve learned a lot.”There are doctors and nurses and teachers and people that worked in construction, in the railroad, and farming,” Strovers said.Some are even related.”We have a father and son. We have a mother and daughter. We have siblings,” Strovers said.Over the last several years, multiple central Iowa funeral homes and the Polk County Medical Examiner’s Office have handed over their cremated remains. “They’ve been family together at Hamilton’s and Iles. They’ll be a family in there,” Allen said.Never alone.Never forgotten.The burial will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 25. To find out more, visit the Final Salute on Facebook.
Nearly 200 Iowans whose cremated remains were left unclaimed after they died will soon be laid to rest.
The Final Salute, a nonprofit that works to identify and bury unclaimed veterans, is responsible for the upcoming sendoff.
“We don’t pick out the veterans and say, hey, we’re just going to honor them. We take everybody,” Final Salute founder Lanae Strovers told Hearst sister station KCCI.
This isn’t the first time Final Salute has done this.
In 2019, they buried nearly 90 civilian adults. In 2024, there were dozens of unclaimed children who were laid to rest. These are all individuals Dennis Allen of the Final Salute says they worked to identify and learn as much as they could about their lives.
“If you look at a headstone, a lot of times you see a birth year and then a dash and then a death year. And so I always go back and think about the dash. That’s their life,” Allen said.
They’ve learned a lot.
“There are doctors and nurses and teachers and people that worked in construction, in the railroad, and farming,” Strovers said.
Some are even related.
“We have a father and son. We have a mother and daughter. We have siblings,” Strovers said.
Over the last several years, multiple central Iowa funeral homes and the Polk County Medical Examiner’s Office have handed over their cremated remains.
“They’ve been family together at Hamilton’s and Iles. They’ll be a family in there,” Allen said.
Never alone.
Never forgotten.
The burial will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 25.
To find out more, visit the Final Salute on Facebook.
