Funeral home shutdown leaves nearly 200 unclaimed ashes

The sudden shutdown of a funeral home left behind the ashes of 180 people.

Now Grays Harbor County Coroner Lane Youmans is working to find their families.

Youmans recovered the ashes from the buildings that once housed the Whiteside Mortuary, which had branches in Elma and Aberdeen.

After more than a century in business, Whiteside closed last year, leaving unclaimed ashes behind.

"Even though I wasn't legally required, there was a moral responsibility. I couldn't leave them in an abandoned building. I took custody of them," Youmans said.

Youmans has identified at least 20 veterans, who will be buried at Tahoma National Cemetery.
Many of the remains are from the 1940s and 1950s, making it tough to find relatives.

"They belong with their family, they don't belong in a vault in an abandoned building," Youmans said.

Industry leaders said it's not unusual for funeral homes to store unclaimed ashes.

Sometimes, people don't pay for cremations or all relatives are dead.

In most cases, when funeral homes close, they're bought by another company, which then keeps storing the ashes.
           
Not this time.
           
"For whatever reason they just walked away from the whole thing," Youmans said.

The State Department of Licensing said after decades of a clean record, Whiteside got into trouble for having employees do work without licenses and then closed last spring.
           
The coroner plans to store all the remains long-term in a cemetery vault so they might someday be claimed.
           
Another mortuary is honoring prepaid funeral contracts.

Cox Media Group