Forgotten souls laid to rest in Renton at annual service

Each year, dozens of people pass away in King County, without anyone to see to their funeral arrangements. So, the local Health Department has taken it upon themselves, not just to take care of the remains, but to remember the souls who’ve been lost.

“We have people that maybe move away from their families, maybe from the East Coast and lose contact, or just choose to get up and go, or they are estranged, or they outlive all their family and there’s nobody there to take care of them,” James Sosik, Jr. said. “Or there’s people who live in solitude and maybe they don’t get along with other human beings so well, so they live alone.”

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Sosik is the lead medical legal death investigator for King County. It is his job to track down relatives of those who have died. Each year, dozens of people pass away in King County without anyone to organize their funeral arrangements. It culminates in a service each year. A total of 180 people were honored in Wednesday’s ceremony at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Renton.

“We start off with wherever they are living, whether it’s an apartment or a tent, whatever; we go through their belongings and try to find any contacts,” he said.

For example, maybe they will find a hospital bill and then check medical records for a next-of-kin.

“We will check all the shelters,” he said. “Sometimes we’ll get a photo of the person and make a cold call; walk downtown and see if anybody recognizes them.”

Sosik says they generally spend about 90 days searching for family members before cremating the remains. Years could pass before they commit them to burial. Sosik said the search can be frustrating when leads go nowhere. Other times, he helps families solve a mystery of where their loved one went.

Don O’Neill was among the crowd attending Wednesday’s funeral.

“I went and got some flowers, yesterday, and I put on my best suit … and I went over to Mount Olivet Cemetery over in Renton,” O’Neill said. “It was pouring rain today, and I was amazed when I pulled in, at all the people who showed up in the pouring rain.”

“It was a beautiful service,” he said. “It started out with a single bagpipe player playing ‘Amazing Grace.’ After that, they would read a couple names. There were ministers, preachers and pastors from all different denominations there. Then they would share something, they would share a song, or a prayer, or a piece of scripture. Then they would read more names. When they would read names, that’s when it hit home that these people are no longer with us and even though some were forgotten in life, they haven’t been forgotten in death by complete strangers.”

Don said that he didn’t go to his grandmother’s funeral, or his dad’s funeral. He has his own reasons for not attending.

“But when I heard about this, when I heard about people that are forgotten, I’m just trying to do a better job at connecting with people and talking with people and being more authentic with them. Sometimes I’m an inauthentic, flawed human being. When I heard there was a possibility that no one was going to be there, I thought ‘I’m somebody and I can be there.’”

Names of those laid to rest Wednesday: 

Istvan Adics
Christopher Aigbokhan
Francis A. Akinyemi
Ardith M. Andrews
German Arutyunov
John James Assad
James Attebery
Lilith Babellon
Carlos V. Batoon
Susan Bellow
John Bendele
Alfred Bernstein
Jean Blanchard
William Bollinger
Ezzie Bostick
Frederick B. Bridgette
Neil Brugmann
Nancy Bryant
Richard E. Burrus
Meliton Cardoso
Sergio Chavez
John Carroll Clark
Robert Clark
George L. Clifford Jr.
Alicia A. Comsa
Peter G. Corey
Charles J. Cottone
Eva P. Curtis
Myrtle E. Daniels
C. Joann Daubert
Jeffrey T. Davis
Joe P. Davis
Peter Delbuck
Albert L. Delp Jr.
Matthew M. Dome
Esther C. Donner
Joseph Dookram
Nikita F. Douglas
Kenneth Dunn
Laurence H. Ebersole
Richard G. Elsbree
Robert A. Fleming
Martin D. Fletcher
Steven R. Forbus
Richard Wayne Fox
Allen Franklin
Leroy A. Freimuth Jr.
Scott E. Friedman
Maria A. Fuscardo
Harry W. Gakin Jr.
Jack Leroy Gallaci
Jeffery Gallant
Roland Gilland
Patrick Glines
Edward Goddard
Rebekah Goldstein
Maurica A. Gosling
Lynn V. Grant
Jacqueline Griffin
Robert C. Gura
Christopher Hall
Janet Hall
Marc Eric Haney
Bryan Hawks
Doyle Hawn
Robert B. Harting
Douglas Heath
Donald W. Hermundson
Susan Higgins
Uge Levi Hopson
David E. Hunt
Delene K. Huntley
Jason J. Hulet
Linda S. Huskey
Winfield T. Hutton
Ngo Tho Huynh
William L. Ingraham
Selvin P. Iscoa
Lynn Jackson
Pamela Jackson
John E. Jennings
Ronald Joiner
Paul Jordan
Gus Van Jones Sr.
Laszio Karpati
Robert J Kauzlarich
Ben Klausner
Michael P Krasick
Gunthe Kunde
Ann Kunhart
Lute Lacey
Patric Larner
Melani Larson
Le Hoa Th
Myung Hu Lee
Wilbur Leigh
Dian Liberato
Gilbert Lira-Garcia
Osca Madrid
Steven Manuel
William Marshall
Steven D. Martindale
Kathleen Mcardle
Claude Mcintosh
Dawna Marie Miller
Grace V. Miller
Paul E. Miller
Roy Henry Miller
Rebekkah Miller-Williams
William D. Moen
James Edward Moore
David Muller
Wallace Nolen Jr.
Greg Norem
James Noren
Pierre Nove
Saleh Obeid
Barbara A. Ogdon
Charles Ojuri
Rahim Olajuwon
William W. Palmer
James Parish
David R. Patterson
Saul Peterson
Hisako M. Pias
Crystal Plesha
William Poston
Ronald W. Price
Chester E. Randall
Harriet J. Rathbun
Brian L. Richardson
Michael F. Robinson
Norma J. Robinson
Timothy A. Rodden
David L. Rubelman
Gerald M. Russell
Delores G. Saas
Crispin E. Sands
Ley-Eric D. Sanford
Eusebio Santos
Gerald Sauve
Vance C. Saxton
Karen E. Scherff
Jane Short
Peter Singyke
William Smith
Frederic R. Snider
Kim A. Solomon
Juan A. Sontay
Allen A. Sprague
Baby Girl Stephens
Floyd G. Stern
Dimitrinka Stoeva
George Storm
Tana R. Stumpf
Gregory F. Sudderth
Walter Sumoski
Carla J. Suriano
David J. Sutcliffe
Frances K. Swanson
Larry P. Tangye
Dennis J. Tarkman
Cheryl Y. Taylor
Gregory E. Thomas
Gillian Timms
Dale Lee Todd
Guiller Torres-Fernandez
Joy A. Travis
Clarence E. Turley
Roberto Velasco-Zabala
Laura J. Waddell
Elroy Ward
Melody Ward
Merlin A. Warnick
Dewayne F. West
Leroy Wiley
Dennis O. Wiltshire
Paul Woodruff
Steve Young
Carol Zaugg