Tolland Town Staffers Rally To Give Deceased Woman Proper Burial

TOLLAND, CT — Several municipal staff members last week went out of their way to make sure a deceased woman was laid to rest with the proper respects.

Town Manager Brian Foley Thursday said the crew "went above and beyond duty with the gesture."

It all began last week when the sexton at the North Cemetery, one of the town's oldest burial grounds, received a call from South Carolina. A woman's remains were being sent up north — to Tolland — and her desired plot. Family members could not attend and no one who knew her lived close by.

Tolland Public Works Director Scott Lappen said that's when five DPW employees and one from another department took matters into their own hands. They decided to attend the burial.

"We received the cremated remains and found the plot," Lappen said. "The poor lady had no one here and was never married, so the guys went up and stood by the grave as her ashes went into the ground.

One member of the crew took money out of his own pocket, bought a small mum that fit perfectly in front of the grave and placed it there, Lappen said.

The crew then took photos of the ceremony and sent them to South Carolina.

"The man who called us was very grateful," Lappen said.

He added, "This was a person's final chapter. I think someone would always always take initiative to so something like this."