05/04/2025
Yesterday, May 3rd, 2024, WMed and the Office of the Medical Examiner joined with our community partner, St Martin of Tours Church, here in Kalamazoo to hold another successful and well supported "Claiming the Unclaimed" ceremony. We interred 50 cremains, providing dignified and recognized final arrangements for those who otherwise had no one available, willing, or able to "claim" them.
The word "unclaimed" can have a negative connotation but does not mean an individual is unloved or unwanted. It sometimes just means that either a deceased person has no one left to be witness to them or is financially able to make final arrangements. As such, it falls to the Medical Examiner to find a way to give them recognition and a voice in their end journey.
We do this through community-based partnership and generous donations, allowing us to provide a beautiful setting for their final resting place, and a brass name plaque for the interred persons, to signify each final transition. During the ceremony, each decedent's name, date of birth, and date of death are read aloud, and a small cross with their name is placed in the grave site. I'm so appreciative of the support and especially to my deputy chiefs, Dave, Kreutz, Jill Jelenek, Ashleigh Butler and the St Martin team for all the hard work that went into this event. It was a truly solemn and heartwarming event! -john
