Unclaimed Bodies in Los Angeles County 2011-Dec 10 2014 service

12-11-14

I had read about it maybe 2 years ago.

The article spoke of the multi-denominational service that took place in Los Angeles that was for the unclaimed bodies in the county. I thought it was really amazing that they would give the people that died a proper burial, despite the various reasons they were not laid to rest by their family. I vowed to go to one of these ceremonies.

This year, a young reporter from the Los Angeles Times took it on himself to cover the months up to the actual ceremony which allowed me to find out exactly when it was being held. I promptly put in for the day off.

Wednesday morning was crisp out. My plan was to leave early just in case for some reason I got lost in the crazy that is most of Los Angeles. I could make the claim that my round-about way to the cemetery was a mistake being that it did in fact take me right past crazy landmarks like the Watts Towers, but in actuality, I think it truly added to the experience.

My Apple Maps took me the really urban way. I think I was only on the freeway for a little while total. I am glad it dumped me into the crazy that was surface streets. Did you know there is a Furniture and Decorative Arts District in LA? Oh the crazy that is old school Los Angeles.

I was a little bummed to go by myself if only because I would have liked to take pictures of the different culture along my route. There was the giant line of people going into what looked like a school. It was slow moving since all of them were going through a metal detector.

There was a sketchy part of town that had me laughing because for a 2 mile stretch, it seemed as though every other building was a church. Did the churches pop up because of the need for spiritual guidance due to the higher crime rate? Were they already there and then the neighborhood went bad? I wonder how much influence these religious buildings hold.

I finally arrived at the cemetery and I was in awe. It was beautiful! I couldn’t believe how massive it is. It is called Evergreen Cemetery, established in 1877. There are over 300K interments there, and it is truly a sight to see. I hope to go back at some point soon. I would be curious to walk through the grounds. The tombstones are practically on top of each other.

The service was held at Potter’s Field, which is the land by the Crematorium. I found it shockingly easily, mostly due to my diligence before my trip in which I looked at the street view. I pulled into the driveway and up the road.

I was greeted by an elderly black gentleman, who looked familiar but I couldn’t place it. Turns out, he was Albert Gaskin. I had seen his picture in one of the original articles. He has worked at the crematorium for many years and keeps records of the bodies that come through the building.

He was sweet and seemed genuinely pleased that I was there for the service. There were already people showing up, most of them from various press organizations. Albert showed me a place to park, which turned out to be right next to the building and it meant that I didn’t have to park down in the main cemetery.

Being early paid off in spades. I was able to take some time to wander the grounds, getting pictures of many of the prior years’ plots. These pictures were also able to be added to the Find-A –Grave website which made me feel good to be able to contribute to this grouping of people who track names and their final resting place.

The year markers were sometimes by themselves. Sometimes they had additional markers that were placed after the burial when someone identified their loved one being a part of the common grave. It was nice to see that there were a handful of people that were remembered, but when you think of the numbers, it is still sad. In 2011, the service I was attending, had 1416 bodies! So one or two markers may seem nice, but there are so many more with no family or friends that added their memorial.

There was so much in the way of press there. There looked to be every major local newsgroup there taking pictures, taking video and interviewing the clergy and the handful of mourners present. I was interviewed by the same gentleman who wrote the LA Times article. I am unsure if he remembered my email despite my informing him of this. Either way, he asked me questions as to why I was there or what would I be getting out of it. I regaled him in the story of Leeroy and how I sort of expected to find his body there next year. He seemed surprised that I also had taken some time to research names on the list. That being said, my name or quotes were not in his article. Oh well.

The service started with a first time appearance by a cellist that was arranged by the main pastor who was running the ceremony. He was joined by members of clergy from the Jewish faith, Buddhist, Fiji Island, and various other denominations. It was pretty cool seeing all of these people working together to bring peace to the souls they were laying to rest.

I was choked up in the beginning, and mellowed out as I tried to observe the pageantry. I spent a lot of time watching people rather than the actual service. That being said, I was not surprised at how emotional I got. There were many babies and children in the grave and the mention of this made me think of my own boys. I truly am grateful they are part of my life and I was hopeful that they never are placed in a grave like this later in life.

I was amused at one point when the Buddhist woman actually broke into a Hare Krishna chant.  Look, I know it is not always chanted by the crazy bald folk at the airport, but it was still humorous to hear the song when it has become synonymous with crazy religious nutballs.

There was one point when the crowd was led in a few verses of Amazing Grace, one of the funeral songs I hate with a passion. It is like nails on a chalkboard for me. I was impressed, though, with how many people knew the song. I bit my tongue and watched the people sing along.

The service was maybe 45 minutes long total. People lingered for a long time. I hung out for a bit, watching people and standing over the grave. I didn’t feel right leaving right away. Once more people had dispersed I was able to pull myself away.

I ended up driving through Evergreen Cemetery after, checking out all of the historical grounds. I should have walked around, but it seemed like I needed people with me for this adventure. I guess the founder of Ralph’s Groceries is there! I am also tempted to go back to the crematorium grounds to get the picture requests that are on Find-A-Grave. Maybe in the future I will have some time.

I took a much more direct route home and I was home on my couch by 11:30. It was a good day and I am so grateful I went. I hope to go every year from here on out.