INDIANAPOLIS — Doves were released into the air Monday at the end of a service held at a West Side cemetery, honoring those who have passed but have no one to remember them.
Over the last four years, the Marion County Coroner's Office has conducted a ceremony to render honor and dignity to the unclaimed remains of individuals in the community.
Lawrence Hendrix, a manager at a Volunteers of America store in Ohio, came to the ceremony from the Buckeye State to honor remains that he had a special connection to.
"She was donated to a store, and any time an unusual donation comes in to Volunteers of America, they typically come to me. I get guns, ammo, hazardous waste, things like that," Hendrix said.
Hendrix is talking about the day in 2018 when Dolores Ford's remains were donated to his store. Initially, he believed the arrival of Ford's ashes was a mistake, but when he called the funeral home that donated the remains, and learned they didn't know what else to do with the remains. They opted to donate her rather than keep her at their facility.
"I thought the best thing to do was I find a decorative box and just keep her with me because I wanted to spread her in my garden, but maybe she didn't like gardening," he explained.
Marion County Coroner Alfarena McGinty is a board member for Volunteers of America. She had stopped by Hendrix's store, and he had mentioned that he had Ford's remains. That's when she helped connect Hendrix with the organization called "He Knows Your Name," which ultimately picked up the remains and brought them to Indianapolis.
"We have ashes that have been left at Goodwills and other places where people drop off items, and people don't know what to do with them. So immediately when Lawrence told me that he had someone that had been on his shelf in his office, I said we have a place for Dolores," McGinty said.
Hendrix felt compelled to attend the ceremony to pay his respects to someone he did not know but who made a significant impact on his life.
"No one left behind, we all deserve dignity," Hendrix said.
The Marion County Coroner's Office has announced that it will continue to hold this service annually and encourages anyone with unclaimed remains to reach out for assistance.
