Every year hundreds of people who die in the District are considered unclaimed. They have a name but had no means – nor did their families – for a burial. That number reached an all-time high during the pandemic.
Next month, a special ceremony is planned in D.C. to honor them.
They’ll be buried at a resting place in Southeast D.C. that’s older than Arlington National Cemetery. Some of the nation’s history makers, including signers of the Declaration of Independence, and city dignitaries, like Mayor Marion Barry, are buried there.
"We like to say that this cemetery sort of, it matches the narrative of this country. You have literal paupers buried here next to actual mayors and congresspeople and people who were sort of the fabric of creating D.C.,” said Lily Buerkle, director of funerals at Congressional Cemetery.
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Since 2019, among the 65,000 buried there are some of the unclaimed, too.
"The mayor's office, they decided you live in D.C., you die in D.C., you should be buried in D.C., which is our honor to have them here," Buerkle said.
"For some there are people who maybe were here out of town and died and they didn't have family here and people didn't know where to look for them. For some, there are people who just could not afford it even if they wanted to. They could not take care of their mom or their father. They just didn't have the means.”
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You have literal paupers buried here next to actual mayors and congresspeople and people who were sort of the fabric of creating D.C.
Lily Buerkle, director of funerals at Congressional Cemetery
A gravestone marks where the first unclaimed interment happened – almost 140 cremated remains placed there. The 2020 ceremony was canceled due to the pandemic. Last year, almost 300 unclaimed remains were laid to rest.
"What happened during the pandemic, there was an increase, a significant increase, 30% to 40% more,” said D.C. Medical Examiner Dr. Francisco Diaz. "And it was by virtue of the pandemic and also the financial struggles that people were having."
His office is charged with caring for the unclaimed until they reach their final resting place.
"Before, our legislation said that they needed to be buried within 20 miles or 25 miles of the District, but now we have the advantage that we could bury them in in the District, and I think that's advantageous for the families," Diaz said.
The city provides cremation, an interfaith ceremony and a burial that offers dignity in death.
"I think that a former British prime minister from the 19th century, he said, the way a society takes care of their dead is a reflection on how they take care of their living," Diaz said.
“The people who have been interred here from the medical examiner's office, they may have been unclaimed, but they are certainly not unloved,” said Buerkle.
Walking through the cemetery, she remembers every ceremony she’s attended.
"I have to,” she said. “For me, it is always about the people."
The celebration planned for Saturday, Oct. 8, at 9 a.m. is open to the public.
“When people come for the ceremony, it is a proper service; it's a proper burial,” Buerkle said. “We have a person of faith here. There's prayers, we bless the ground, and many from the city come from the medical examiner's office, as well as the mayor's office.”
Each person’s name will be read out loud.
"We want people to be able to move on from whatever pain they may have experienced in their lives, and I hope we hope that this ceremony brings them some comfort and peace to allow them to do that," said Buerkle.
The medical examiner's office said any unclaimed military decedents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery with honors if eligible.
Unclaimed remains are eligible for public disposition 15 days after they are taken to the medical examiner if no family can be contacted or if the family opts for the unclaimed burial. The D.C. medical examiner also will hold remains for loved ones who opt to pay for their own funeral services.
The list of unclaimed remains can be searched here.
Reported by Tracee Wilkins, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Jeff Piper.
