Collection of White Tanks Cemetery Articles

In an effort to bring as much awareness as possible to White Tanks Cemetery, I will continue to gather and post any and all articles that I might be able to find about it here. I would like to be able to take a look at the articles from the past to the present and hopefully the FUTURE.

It is my hope that the FUTURE articles will begin to read differently about White Tanks. I hope that they will bring awareness to the lives that end there.

White Tanks: A human touch for the business of death

This article is very good to look at... It actually has a video of how the service is done. It also shows the making of the brass markers. Scott Craven, contacted me, interested in doing a piece on White Tanks. He had read my story and wanted to include the LIFE aspect of White Tanks. He did a wonderful job! I thanked him many times over for putting this piece together. It is a beautiful piece. It also includes information from the public fiduciary about how they find next of kin. This article is RECENT and it will be my starting point for changing things!

Andre House is one of the religious organization's that provides spirituality to the services at White Tanks Cemetery. We all have Andre House to thank for giving our loved ones the love and goodbye that they deserve. 
click here for one person's experience at White Tanks with the Andre House. She says the following in her blog, "I came face to face with death's reality again this morning.  Five of us on summer staff drove thirty minutes outside of Phoenix to a potter's field to inter three men who had died and whose bodies had gone unclaimed.  More than likely they died on the street or in a shelter.  This was not an uncommon ceremony; eight different groups rotate overseeing the service to inter those who leave this world with nothing. Burying the dead is one of the corporal works of mercy that seems to always get glossed over (along with visiting the imprisoned, which we also checked off).  I can certainly see the value in it though.  These men had no one to mourn for them, no one to pray for their repose; except us.  We may have been the last humans to acknowledge that these men ever lived, and the gravity of that as our duty weighed on me during the ceremony.  Some of the graves at the cemetery were actually cared for with flowers or crosses, but most featured only a small round marker stuck in the ground.  I cannot say I was sad, but I was depressed, depressed at how quickly death's anonymity would swallow these men up.  It has really made me appreciate my faith, that there is hope that we simply will not fade away after death, but will come to new life."

The Path To White Tank County Cemetery
Summary: "Life for these three was prematurely snuffed out forever. They would never again see the sun rise or set, see a dog wag its tail, or hear a mourning dove sing its plaintive song. With each shovel of dirt, the delinquent teens heard about the consequences of taking the wrong path. These dead souls had given up their right to ever have the power of choice again----to live or to die, to take the left fork or the right. Sheriff Joe wanted the teens to see.....we pass this way but once." 

Gina O'Neil Gives Her Account of White Tanks Cemetery
The research about White Tanks Cemetery began in spring of 2009 after I  heard of the death of “Timmy”, a brother-in-law whom I never met and never knew. Timmy was the youngest of four children of Melvin and Barbara O’Neill. Being married to Timmy’s brother, Mike the oldest of the four; I made it my commitment to support my husband’s mission, to find where Timmy is buried.

A Dignified Paradox By D. J. ChavezThis is a book that includes White Tanks Cemetery. If you do the google search, it will allow you to preview a page of his book. It talks about abandonment being like suicide and how some end up at White Tanks.

Spirits of the White Tanks Cemetery 

Summary: Members of the Glendale Paranormal Chasers, the Reaper Team, and the MVD Ghostchasers joined together for an evening investigation of the cemetery grounds. Many of the pictures show what are said to be "orbs" or floating free spirits.

My thoughts: Not sure how to feel about this article, given that my mother was lost in her life, I have always wondered if her soul is really at rest or if it is still LOST. Which was one of my biggest desires to find her. I had hoped to be there with her when she passed, to give her peace. I wanted to close the outstanding issues between us before that time came... but I was denied of that ability. Although my mom chose to go to Arizona (and leave Ohio), I really feel that the authorities failed to assist me in helping my MENTALLY ILL MOTHER. More needs to be done to change this! We have to do something to make some kind of change.

Ghost Hunting at White Tanks Cemetery.

Summary: There are several stories about the White Tanks Cemetery, told to me by the GPC, who experienced these stories first hand. In the past, ghosts have turned on flashlights laid on graves. Another spirit likes making the sound of a bell ringing.  By the Porta Potty, there’s a bad dude who seems to guard the bathroom. According to Tim, whoever he is, he is not to be trifled with. He’s a mecca of bad energy, although of course, I made Tim take me over to where this angry ghost was known to hang out. Unfortunately, he was out haunting someone else last night.

When's There No One to Care
Summary: "When there’s no one to care, chain gangs bury the poor and the unknown of 
Maricopa County in a desolate cemetery half an hour west of Phoenix"

My thoughts: This is the very first article that I read about White Tanks Cemetery. It was very disturbing to me to read the article because my mother is there and someone did care. This is the overall impression of the cemetery... I did not want my mother there. I need to work on changing the overall reputation of the cemetery, spreading awareness of the functionality of it and changing how people end up there!  
A reporter, named Tarryn, from Cronkite News contacted me about a year ago and asked if she could do an article on my mother and White Tanks Cemetery. I absolutely agreed to do it. We did a skype interview and she put the piece together, but it was never published by Cronkite. She no longer works there, but said that she would ask about it for me. 

I am trying to work on getting the article published. I will try and bring as much attention as possible to White Tanks and spread the word about how people end up there. People must know about it before anything can change. The media can be a very strong ally in trying to bring awareness to and changing public policy.

White Tanks Cemetery is County's Potter's Field  (October 2004)
This article focuses on the fact that the chain gang is who performs the burials. It gives a perspective from the inmate's view. It also says, Some are transients who have fallen victim to their addictions, estranged from their families, said Sharie Tomlinson, county deputy public fiduciary. Others are poor, elderly people who outlived their loved ones. Still others are abandoned babies or those born of indigent couples."

Click Here you can view a slideshow to bagpipes of White Tanks Cemetery.
Photojournalist captures a service here.