Dozens of unclaimed remains buried, cremated each year in New Hampshire

UNDERWOOD DIGS INTO THE REASONS WHY. FOR MANY PEOPLE, IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE A LOVED ONE FINDING THEIR FINAL RESTING PLACE ON A SHELF IN THE BACK CLOSET OF A FUNERAL HOME. WE DO WONDER WHAT’S WHAT’S WHAT’S THE STORY YOU KNOW WHO’S THE PERSON BEHIND THE NAME? UM, AND WHAT HAPPENED THAT LED THEM TO A SITUATION WHERE NO ONE, NOBODY CAME FORWARD? THEY’RE CALLED UNCLAIMED REMAINS. AND PHANEUF FUNERAL HOME IN MANCHESTER SEES UPWARDS OF 50 EACH YEAR. IN SOME CASES, THEY THEY CAN’T FIND FAMILY OR THE FAMILY DOES NOT WANT TO BE INVOLVED OR THERE IS NO FAMILY. SOMETIMES THE FAMILY HAS PAID FOR THE CREMATION AND IT’S JUST TOO EMOTIONAL TO PICK THEM UP. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE JUST GOT TO THE POINT WHERE THEY CAN’T, UM, RECOGNIZE THE LOSS, YOU KNOW, AND THEY AND IT’S TOO PAINFUL FOR THEM TO DO THAT. BUT ACCORDING TO SEVERAL FUNERAL DIRECTORS, MANY UNCLAIMED REMAINS ARE OF PEOPLE WHO DIED WITH NO FAMILY OR FRIENDS. IN THOSE CASES WHERE A DECEASED PERSON HAS NO NEXT OF KIN OR THEIR FAMILY CAN’T AFFORD IT, STATE LAW REQUIRES CITIES AND TOWNS TO PAY FOR THE CREMATION, WHICH AT THE LOW END COSTS AROUND $1,300. THAT MONEY COMES FROM TAXPAYERS THROUGH LOCAL WELFARE DEPARTMENTS, BUT WE HAVE A LEGAL ROLE, AND I WOULD SUGGEST A HUMANITARIAN ROLE AS A SOCIETY. UM, TO AT LEAST PROVIDE A FLOOR OF DIGNITY FOR PEOPLE. TODD MARSH, PRESIDENT OF THE STATE WELFARE ADMINISTRATORS ASSOCIATION, SAYS MUNICIPAL CREMATION AND BURIAL COSTS ARE ON THE RISE AND IN SOME CITIES, THE SPIKE IS ALARMING. NASHUA PAID OVER $30,000 IN 2023, A 77% JUMP SINCE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. MANCHESTER’S COSTS WERE MORE THAN $30,000 LAST YEAR, UP NEARLY 45% FROM THE YEAR BEFORE. MEAN, WHILE ROCHESTER SPENT NEARLY $20,000 LAST YEAR, A 23% INCREASE FROM 2022. WE DO HAVE AN APPLICATION. IT’S NOT A RUBBER STAMP TYPE OF ASSISTANCE. UM, HOWEVER, SOMEONE NEEDS TO STEP UP, UM, AND IN THAT CASE, IT’S. YES, THE TAXPAYERS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. MARSH SAYS THERE’S NO ONE REASON FOR THE RISING COST, BUT EVERYONE INTERVIEWED FOR THIS STORY SAYS THE PANDEMIC, THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC AND THE HOMELESS CRISIS ARE ALL PRIMARY CONTRIBUTING FACTORS. FORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, FOLKS MAKE BAD DECISIONS AND THEY’VE BEEN DISENFRANCHIZED FROM THEIR FAMILIES AND THE FAMILIES HAVE SAID, YOU KNOW, I’M SORRY. YOU KNOW, WE’RE WE’RE OUT AT THIS POINT BY LAW, FUNERAL HOMES MUST HOLD ON TO THE CREMATED REMAINS FOR AT LEAST 60 DAYS AND CAN THEN DISPOSE OF THEM ANY WAY THEY SEE FIT. BUT FOR MICHAUD AND PHANEUF, THE ONLY WAY THEY SEE FIT IS THROUGH A DIGNIFIED FAREWELL. HERE IN WILTON AT THE LAUREL HILL CEMETERY. THE TOWN GIFTED THIS PLOT TO THE MICHAUD FUNERAL HOME, WHERE THEY BURIED 47 UNCLAIMED REMAINS. FOR NOW, FUNERAL HOME HOLDS A SIMILAR CEREMONY EVERY YEAR AT MOUNT CALVARY CEMETERY IN MANCHESTER, WHERE MORE THAN 350 UNCLAIMED REMAINS FROM ACROSS THE STATE HAVE BEEN BURIED OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS. WHAT THE DIOCESE HAS SORT OF OPENED THEIR HEART AND SAID, HEY, FOR FOR THESE, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATE SOULS THAT HAVE JUST BEEN ABANDONED, AT LEAST THERE’S A RESTING PLACE THAT’S

For many people, it's hard to imagine — a loved one finding their final resting place on a shelf in the back closet of a funeral home.“We do wonder, what's the story? You know, who's the person behind the name and what happened that led them to a situation where no one nobody came forward?” Todd Marsh, Rochester’s welfare director, said.They are called unclaimed remains, and Phaneuf Funeral Homes in Manchester sees upward of 50 each year.“In some cases, they can't find family, or the family does not want to be involved, or there is no family,” Buddy Phaneuf of Phaneuf Funeral Homes said.Sometimes, the family has paid for the cremation, and it's just too emotional to pick them up.“You know, people have just got to the point where they can't recognize the loss, you know, and it's too painful for them to do that,” Carl Michaud of Michaud Funeral Home said.According to several funeral directors, many unclaimed remains are of people who died with no family or friends. >> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <<In those cases where a deceased person has no next of kin, or their family can't afford it, state law requires cities and towns to pay for the cremation, which, at the low end, costs around $1,300. That money comes from taxpayers through local welfare departments.“We have a legal role, and I would suggest a humanitarian role as a society to at least provide a floor of dignity for people,” Marsh said.Marsh, who is the president of the New Hampshire Local Welfare Administrators Association, said municipal cremation and burial costs are on the rise and in some cities the spike is alarming.Nashua paid $30,604 in 2023, a 77-percent jump since before the pandemic.Manchester's costs were at $30,796 last year, up nearly 45 percent from the year before.Meanwhile, Rochester spent $19,500 last year, a 23-percent increase from 2022.“We do have an application. It's not a rubber stamp type of assistance. However, someone needs to step up, and in that case, it's, yes, the taxpayers of New Hampshire,” Marsh said.Marsh said there is no one reason for the rising cost, but everyone interviewed for this story said the pandemic, the opioid epidemic and the homeless crisis are the primary contributing factors.“Unfortunately, you know, folks make bad decisions, and they've been disenfranchised from their families. And the families have said, you know, ‘I'm sorry.' You know, ‘We're out at this point,’” Phaneuf said.By law, funeral homes must hold onto the cremated remains for at least 60 days and can then dispose of them any way they see fit. But for Michaud and Phaneuf, the only way they see fit is through a dignified farewell.The town of Wilton gifted a plot at Laurel Hill Cemetery to the Michaud Funeral Home, where they have buried 47 unclaimed remains.“It's a little bit of closure, I think, for the family and for everyone, since everybody deserves a proper burial,” Michaela Griffin of Michaud Funeral Home said.Phaneuf Funeral Homes holds a similar ceremony every year at Mount Cavalry Cemetery in Manchester, where more than 350 unclaimed remains from across the state have been buried over the last eight years.“The Diocese has sort of opened their heart and said, ‘Hey, for these, you know, unfortunate souls that have just been abandoned, at least there's a resting place that's appropriate and dignified for them,’” Phaneuf said.

For many people, it's hard to imagine — a loved one finding their final resting place on a shelf in the back closet of a funeral home.

“We do wonder, what's the story? You know, who's the person behind the name and what happened that led them to a situation where no one nobody came forward?” Todd Marsh, Rochester’s welfare director, said.

They are called unclaimed remains, and Phaneuf Funeral Homes in Manchester sees upward of 50 each year.

“In some cases, they can't find family, or the family does not want to be involved, or there is no family,” Buddy Phaneuf of Phaneuf Funeral Homes said.

Sometimes, the family has paid for the cremation, and it's just too emotional to pick them up.

“You know, people have just got to the point where they can't recognize the loss, you know, and it's too painful for them to do that,” Carl Michaud of Michaud Funeral Home said.

According to several funeral directors, many unclaimed remains are of people who died with no family or friends.

>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <<

In those cases where a deceased person has no next of kin, or their family can't afford it, state law requires cities and towns to pay for the cremation, which, at the low end, costs around $1,300. That money comes from taxpayers through local welfare departments.

“We have a legal role, and I would suggest a humanitarian role as a society to at least provide a floor of dignity for people,” Marsh said.

Marsh, who is the president of the New Hampshire Local Welfare Administrators Association, said municipal cremation and burial costs are on the rise and in some cities the spike is alarming.

Nashua paid $30,604 in 2023, a 77-percent jump since before the pandemic.

Manchester's costs were at $30,796 last year, up nearly 45 percent from the year before.

Meanwhile, Rochester spent $19,500 last year, a 23-percent increase from 2022.

“We do have an application. It's not a rubber stamp type of assistance. However, someone needs to step up, and in that case, it's, yes, the taxpayers of New Hampshire,” Marsh said.

Marsh said there is no one reason for the rising cost, but everyone interviewed for this story said the pandemic, the opioid epidemic and the homeless crisis are the primary contributing factors.

“Unfortunately, you know, folks make bad decisions, and they've been disenfranchised from their families. And the families have said, you know, ‘I'm sorry.' You know, ‘We're out at this point,’” Phaneuf said.

By law, funeral homes must hold onto the cremated remains for at least 60 days and can then dispose of them any way they see fit. But for Michaud and Phaneuf, the only way they see fit is through a dignified farewell.

The town of Wilton gifted a plot at Laurel Hill Cemetery to the Michaud Funeral Home, where they have buried 47 unclaimed remains.

“It's a little bit of closure, I think, for the family and for everyone, since everybody deserves a proper burial,” Michaela Griffin of Michaud Funeral Home said.

Phaneuf Funeral Homes holds a similar ceremony every year at Mount Cavalry Cemetery in Manchester, where more than 350 unclaimed remains from across the state have been buried over the last eight years.

“The Diocese has sort of opened their heart and said, ‘Hey, for these, you know, unfortunate souls that have just been abandoned, at least there's a resting place that's appropriate and dignified for them,’” Phaneuf said.

Dozens of unclaimed remains buried, cremated each year in New Hampshire

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