14 unclaimed remains to be laid to rest at May 25 ceremony

Kane County Coroner Rob Russell announced today that 14 more cremains will be added to the St. Charles Township Cemetery crypt. A nondenominational service and entombment is planned for Thursday, May 25, at 10 a.m. at the cemetery, 1200 N. Fifth Ave. in St. Charles.

Four years ago, Coroner Russell facilitated the entombment of 41 unclaimed remains from his office and several others from area funeral homes. Soon after highlighting the problem, St. Charles Township Supervisor John Arthur Anderson presented the solution: An empty, unused tomb that had already been paid for. Originally, 47 cremains were discovered in the Kane County Coroner's Office storage unit but six were able to be reunited with families. Russell performed another entombment in May of 2015 in which 10 more cremated remains were entombed.

The original discovery of the cremains prompted Russell to enlist the help of the media in hopes of uniting any of the unclaimed cremains with their next-of-kin.

When the cremains story broke, it garnered international media attention. People from near and far, came forward, inquiring about the cremains.

A father was reunited with the cremains of his 2 month old child, 26 years after his child's sudden death. Another set of cremains was shipped halfway around the world, to be reunited with next-of-kin in Australia.

With the fact that the state is discussing terminating funds for indigent burial, Russell also sees the partnership with the township as necessary.

"With the state being in the condition it is in, we have to find alternatives to take care of those who are indigent. Too many times, family members wind up walking away from the responsibility for burial. With this township partnership, some of that cost has been mitigated." Russell said. "I would like to see all the townships that have cemeteries partner with me in the future."

Coroner Russell would like to thank St. Charles Township Supervisor Ron Johnson and the St. Charles Township Cemetery Board for continuing to partner with the Coroner's Office in this pre-Memorial Day service.

Below is a list of the cremains to be entombed on May 25, 2017. The names are being published in hopes that someone will recognize and claim them:

• Monty Ford, date of death, Dec. 15, 2016;

• Michael Jansen, date of death, Oct. 25, 2016;

• Karen Rangel, date of death, Feb. 15, 2017;

• Luis Hernandez, date of death, June 21, 2016;

• Linda Marx, date of death, Jan. 6, 2016;

• Alvin Refke, date of death, Aug. 17, 2015;

• Bonnie McKinney, date of death, Sept. 2, 2015;

• Howard Myers, date of death, June 15, 2016;

• Alicia Lemos, date of death, Dec. 21, 1961;

• Vito Calabrese, date of death, Jan. 4, 2009;

• Penny Calabrese, date of death, March 8, 2007;

• Ursula Staack, date of death, Sept. 3, 2009;

• John Lundstrom, date of death, March 20, 2017;

• Alana Waver, date of death, March 12, 2017.

For more information, please contact Coroner Russell at (630) 232-5914.