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Saturday, November 21, 2009
Vets Had To Pay for Comrade's Ashes
By Charles D. Brunt
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer
Many people attending his funeral Friday didn't know much about John Q. Lott, a 92-year-old veteran of World War II who died Oct. 12 in the Albuquerque VA hospital.
Had caregiver Mary Millard not mentioned his death to veteran Fred Ortiz, Lott's ashes might have wound up sprinkled anonymously over a cemetery or buried with the remains of other indigent residents.
Instead, his ashes were fittingly buried Friday with full military honors at Santa Fe National Cemetery — after fellow vets passed the hat and came up with the $485 it took to get his remains from a county contractor.
"I tried getting the remains from the county," said Ortiz, state service officer for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "They refused to give them to me until we came up with the expenses of $485."
"I didn't know the man. I just got involved because he was a veteran and needed a proper burial," Ortiz said Friday.
While trying to track down Lott's ashes, which by law fell under the guardianship of Bernalillo County when there were no provisions for his disposition, Ortiz learned precious little about Lott.
After a 25-year career with both the Army and Air Force, Lott retired and settled in Albuquerque. He has a daughter living in Massachusetts but, for financial reasons, Ortiz said, she was unable to claim her father's remains.
Citing privacy issues, officials with the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System could say only that Lott died Oct. 12 in the Raymond G. Murphy Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Bernalillo County turned Lott's body over to New Mexico Mortuary Services, which contracts with the county to handle indigent burials, said county spokeswoman Liz Hamm. By agreement with the county, New Mexico Mortuary Services cremated Lott and retained his ashes in case someone eventually claimed them, said Charles Finegan, owner of the service.
Finegan, who is paid $485 for each indigent disposition he handles, said remains are kept for up to two years. If they remain unclaimed, the remains are either buried in a cemetery, or, if the cemetery allows it, the ashes can be sprinkled over the grounds.
Ortiz said the VFW had to reimburse the county the $485.
Because the state's anti-donation clause prevents a government entity from "donating" anything of value to private individuals, Hamm said, the county's hands were tied when Ortiz sought to obtain a fellow veteran's ashes without having to pay for them.
Unhappy but undeterred, Ortiz rallied the troops. The American Legion donated $85, VFW Post 7686 in Alamogordo kicked in $100, and the Rio Rancho Veterans Memorial Committee donated $300. Soon afterward, a box containing Lott's ashes was in Ortiz's hands.
As of 1:30 p.m. Friday, John Q. Lott's ashes were resting peacefully among his fellow warriors.
Happy ending
But his story didn't end there.
At Friday's ceremony, someone handed Ortiz a check for $485.
New Mexico Veterans Services Department Secretary John M. Garcia told the Journal late Friday that he had brokered an agency-to-agency deal with Bernalillo County to return the check Ortiz had used to pay for his comrade's ashes.
Garcia, a Vietnam veteran, said he's already working with the VA and other agencies to avoid a repeat of the Lott dilemma, and to ensure that all New Mexico veterans get the burial they deserve.
"This was a case of veterans rallying together to give a fellow veteran a deserved final salute," Garcia said. "We gave him that today."
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