Wheeling nonprofit, community come together to bury abandoned babies

Susan Walker says she'd love to see the nonprofit group she founded go out of business.

The Wheeling-based Rest In His Arms was created 11 years ago to provide funerals and burials for Illinois children who were abandoned or died tragically. Since then, it's been called upon 32 times.

"We don't like providing funerals," Walker said, "but we'll keep doing it as long as we need to."

The group already has reached out to the DuPage County Coroner, offering to provide a funeral for Baby Hope, the newborn girl found dead Monday along a road near Wheaton.

There's a possibility, however, that Baby Hope will remain in the morgue for several months. While officials are trying to move quickly, DuPage Sheriff's police need to complete their investigation of the baby's death and make all efforts to locate her mother and next of kin before releasing the remains for burial.

When that time comes, Rest In His Arms is willing to take the next steps. The group assumes all costs associated with the abandoned child's funeral.

Often, it gets help from others appalled by the deaths. Funeral homes donate caskets, florists provide free flowers, musicians donate their time to play bagpipes at the cemetery or sing in the church, and local archdioceses offer cemetery plots at no cost.

Several individuals and groups, including Angel Babies of Lake Villa, also donate gowns to bury the babies in that are made of used wedding, first communion and flower girl dresses. And on the day of the funerals, which are open to the public, dozens or sometimes hundreds of heartbroken strangers show up to pay their respects.

"We're very, very grateful," Walker said. "There's some private citizens who are doing their best to plan things when these terrible tragedies happen. It really comes together very nicely."

Walker said the search for next of kin typically takes at least 90 days. On average, Rest In His Arms isn't able to do a burial until six months to a year after the death. In one case, it took two years.

"They don't want to have to exhume the body," she said. "They really do want to do a very thorough investigation first."

Still, Rest In His Arms will always wait for a final word from coroners and medical examiners about the status of the remains, to ensure the child receives a final act of dignity and respect.

"We will help in any way they need us to, if and when it gets to that point, but at this point there's nothing we can do," Walker said of the Wheaton case.

Walker does have two suggestions, however, for anyone grieving over Baby Hope who wants to take action now. First, she said, consider printing out and distributing promotional materials about baby safe havens from the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation website.

"Go to the resource library and print out some of the posters and take them anywhere you go, whether it's Barnes & Noble, or the library, or doctors' offices, get permission to put the poster up," she said.

There's always the option, she added, to make a donation to Rest In His Arms, too - considering the illegal abandonment of Baby Hope likely won't be the last.

"It's heartbreaking," Walker said. "Every single time, it's a feeling of, 'We're not doing enough to get the word out about baby safe haven laws.'"