Anyone with a loved one whose ashes were never collected has been asked to contact Morrisons Funerals, which is preparing a mass interment.<\/p>\n
The funeral home is asking for ashes to be claimed by December 1. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing a mass interment of the ones we\u2019ve got up until 2020,\u201d Plunkett said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then the ones from 2020-2025, we\u2019re actually keeping on-site for the last five years, so that if anybody has been overseas or something like that, there\u2019s still a chance they might contact us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently stored in a secure room, the unclaimed ashes will be interred in a M\u0101ngere Lawn Cemetery plot.<\/p>\n
A plaque with a QR code with a link to the names of the people whose ashes have been interred will beat the site, allowing people to check whose ashes are there, Plunkett said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re not sure, you know, ring us and we can look the names up and see if we can match them with anybody that may be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashes do not get collected for many reasons, including the death or illness of the person meant to collect them, family conflict, people living away from where the urns are, or emotional avoidance, she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe find a lot of things these days, like the children are overseas and the mothers or parents die in New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
The funeral home recently had a success story where a grandson collected his grandfather\u2019s ashes. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe came and he claimed them and now he\u2019s laid his grandfather to rest.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just really pleased that he … eventually found out where they were and that he could come and get them.\u201d <\/p>\n
Families should talk with their loved ones about what they want to happen to their ashes after they die, as it often gets overlooked in wills, which can lead to worries about what to do with them, she said. <\/p>\n