Hi
My name is Anonymous, I am in PA and found your blog, i am going thru the same thing you are with AZ.
No one in my family had heard from my father in over a year, now this was not unusual for him, yet for some reason i decided in January to google his name. Well, a blurb in the Phoenix Republic newspaper came up. It was from the Harper funeral home and dated Oct 1, 07, it stated that my father had died 7/28/07 and if anyone had info to call them. I was in shock for a few days to say the least.
I called them and found out that he was buried in White Tanks Cemetary on Nov 1, 07, they thought he was indigent. Well that just isn't true. They kept him at the funeral home for 3 months, yet it seems to me they didn't try hard to find a relative, maybe it is not their job, i don't know.
I then contacted the fidiciary office, they were nice and did confirm he was in White Tanks. They never made an attempt to find any family. They had his Social Security number and i know that those records list parents names. On his death certificate his parents are listed as unknown, there are a lot of unknowns on his death certificate. They also knew he had a bank account but would not give me any further information.
He also passed in Banner Good Samaritan hospital, they will not give me any info. You seem to have had better luck with them than me.
It seems your search has just begun and you probably haven't been able to obtain a death certificate yet. I had to prove to AZ that i was his daughter with my certified birth certificate. AZ seems to protect it's citizens even after their death. I must warn you that my father was not embalmed, maybe the funeral home was just cutting expenses. I suspect the same will be true of your mother.
I could go on and on, but won't, there are too many details to this puzzle. I am sure you are running through the gammet of emotions just as i did. A day does not go by that i don't think on this matter. I am going to follow your blog faithfully and wish you the best of luck in your endeavor to change the way things are done and getting your mother home.
Anonymous
Dear Miranda,
I am writing about article I found on the internet.
Not sure if you still want contacts concerning White Tanks cemetery. If you are, please contact me at this e-mail address, we are presently going thru something similar to what happened with your mom. Anonymous
Dear Miranda,
First, please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of your mother. I came across your post on the city-data.com forum about your mother and read your blog about White Tanks. I live in Phoenix and I had no idea that White Tanks existed and I am appalled. Is there anything I can do to help you?
In your discussions with the City of Phoenix, did you get any information from them about landscaping and how the appearance of the “cemetery” might be changed? I’m asking because I’m trying to figure out if there is anything I can do locally to change the way the cemetery looks. I know this won’t change what happened with your situation and the fact that the city didn’t do their job by looking for the next of kin, but if I can change the appearance of the cemetery then it would be a slightly better place. Let me know what you found out and I’ll take it from there.
Sincerely,
MacKenzie
Scott Craven, Reporter with the Arizona Republic says,
"Miranda, I do understand your feelings about your mother being buried in White Tanks. But I wanted to share briefly my experiences out there when watching several burials.
Each Thursday, when burials take place, volunteer chaplains arrive to say a few words over each of the departed. There are prayers, sometimes hymns, and flowers are placed on each casket. The chain gangs I saw were respectful, and many of the inmates volunteered to read a prayer or two as the bodies were slowly lowered into the graves. The chaplains have volunteered out there since around 1992. Not sure when the story is running, but we are aiming for mid-November. I will keep in touch.
Scott
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