Kane Co. Coroner To Entomb Unclaimed Cremains

ST. CHARLES, IL - From Kane County Coroner: Kane County Coroner Rob Russell announced today that 16 more cremains will be added to the St. Charles Township Cemetery North mausoleum. A non-denominational service and entombment is planned for Friday, May 31st, 2019 at 10:00 am. The address of the cemetery is 1200 N. 5th Ave in St. Charles.

Six years ago (2013), Coroner Russell facilitated the entombment of 41 unclaimed remains left in a storage room in his office. 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 has performed two additional entombments, one in 2015 and another in 2017. This will be the forth such event in Russell's six years in office.

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 still struggling financially, indigent burials are still an issue. Russell sees the importance in collaborating with other entities, such as township government, as necessary, “With the state hurting financially, 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 Post-Memorial Day service.

Below is a list of the cremains to be entombed on May 31st, 2019. Please publish these names in hopes that someone will recognize and claim them:

Name Visser, Susan Fisher, Michael Hughes, Irene Bauman, Ilse Blanton, Melvin Moncatch, David
Underwood, Winifred Nolan, Rebecca Espinoza, Miguel Barr, Earlene Fleit, Frank Schultz, Linda Frederick, Laura Haff, Jeffrey Caston, Debra | Phommek, Pornthip

For more information, please contact Coroner Russell at 630-232-3535.