LOCAL

Doña Ana County to hold funeral services for these 22 unclaimed people

From Staff Reports
For the Sun-News
A man drops dirt into the grave at a funeral for 24 people whose bodies were unclaimed in 2018 in Las Cruces.

LAS CRUCES - The remains of 22 people whose bodies were not claimed will be buried at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Las Cruces, with Jess Williams officiating the non-denominational service. The ceremony will be open to the public, following masking and social distances guidelines.

Each body was cremated, and the remains have been in the custody of the Doña Ana County Health and Human Services Department, for at least two years, as required by state law. No family or friends came forward during that period to claim the remains.

Doña Ana County pays for the cremation and eventual burial of the remains of indigent individuals who die in Doña Ana County. They are interred at St. Joseph Cemetery, under a contract with St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church.

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The unclaimed remains of military veterans are buried each year at Santa Fe National Cemetery, with full military honors. 

The names of those cremated, slated to be interred on Nov. 10:

  • Juan Carlos Aguilar-Bazan, 49
  • Theresia Byrd, 49
  • Pilar Caldwell, 51
  • Gordon Carter, 58
  • Arthur M. Dombeck, 74
  • Sherry Dubois, 72
  • Kevin Green, 54
  • William Charles Howard, 51
  • Robert Humphus, 73
  • Thomas R. Jacobs, 65
  • Lynn Reymond Kiphart, 80
  • Jerry Lee, 71
  • Amelia J. Lucero, 77
  • Harold McKelvey, 54
  • Cameron Mockbee, 68
  • Martin E. Moreno, 60
  • Lori Richards, 55
  • Larry Rinker, 61
  • Juan Ulloa, 68
  • James Arthur Warren, 62
  • James L. Williams, 72
  • Paul Zugasti-Damy, 76

To claim cremains, call the Doña Ana County’s Health and Human Services Department at 575-525-5848.