November 2 (All Souls Day) | 10am | Beal Memorial Cemetery
By Carolyn Newcomer Ketchel, Okaloosa County Commissioner, District 2
Florida Statute 497.005(43) requires that each county ensure the proper final disposition of indigent and unclaimed deceased persons in the respective counties. Each year, Okaloosa County receives an average of 30-40 individuals who die without family support or financial means to cover the cost of interment.
Over the past 17 years, Okaloosa County has contracted with various private funeral homes to provide cremation services for these indigent and unclaimed persons. When I first became a commissioner, I asked the question, “What happens to the individuals once cremated?” No one knew. So, a quick search of local funeral homes that had contracted with Okaloosa County over the years yielded approximately 450 sets of cremains that had collected in storage at the various vendor funeral homes.
In 2016, local pastors were invited to plan a service like no other to bury these forgotten individuals in a dignified, but joyful ecumenical service. The Okaloosa County Lazarus Memorial Service has become a cherished ceremony. The name is taken from the recorded words of Jesus about the poor man named Lazarus who went to Paradise after death, after struggling on earth (Luke 16:19-21). This ceremony has buried about 800 individuals. You are invited to attend this beautiful event.
That same year a coordinated effort was developed to purchase seven burial plots at Beal Memorial Cemetery in the heart of Okaloosa County. The county initially agreed to pay $7,530. Area churches took up a collection to defray the cost, which resulted in a contribution of $5,000 to the cost of the plots. Further, the clergy were able to contribute $1,481 to purchase and place two benches, one at either end of the burial plots.
On Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, at 10 a.m. at the Beal Memorial Cemetery, the local faith community will gather to remember and say goodbye to the invisible members of our local community. The Lazarus Memorial Service is an ecumenical ceremony to bury individuals in our community who have died without means to provide for their own burial. The ceremony provides a dignified manner to memorialize the cremains of those who otherwise would not have funeral services. It is our community’s outpouring of respect and community spirit to provide the unclaimed deceased a dignified resting place.
The ceremony has become a much-celebrated event within the faith community and in the life of our county as a dignified way to memorialize those we have lost, many of whom are senior citizens who have outlived their relatives as well as infants and children whose parents and families are without financial means, and those members of our community who have become estranged from their families due to mental illness.
This year we have 38 individuals from a stillborn baby boy to a woman who lived to be 104 years old and died in a nursing home with no known next of kin. Though you might think these are homeless individuals, and sometimes that’s the case, most were simply without family and many died alone in their home.
Funeral Home Director Mr. Bass and the wonderful staff at Emerald Coast Funeral Home have graciously stepped up each year to host this formal ceremony to place each person at rest. Each set of cremains is held in a box bearing the individual’s name. Prior to the ceremony, the boxes are placed inside green velvet bags for display. Those attending the outdoor ceremony can pay their final respects before the ceremony begins. A printed program is provided which includes the order of worship, music to be shared and a list of the individuals to be interred. The service includes ringing the cemetery bells, offering prayers, reading scripture, singing hymns and music, a message of faith and hope, and the recitation of each person’s name. The name and date of death of each interred individual is entered in The Book of Remembrance. This book is stored on site at Beal Cemetery for use by relatives and friends of the deceased.
The Okaloosa County Lazarus Memorial Service Project has benefited the county and the public by providing a solution regarding a final disposition of the extensive number of unclaimed and indigent decedents in Okaloosa County, which includes infants to aged centenarians. Okaloosa County was recognized by the Florida Association of Counties for Best Practices and other counties have become inspired to create their own ceremonies.
As a compassionate and dignified way to bury these invisible members of our society, area clergy from every denomination come together throughout the year to plan for an ecumenical service to provide a dignified burial in Beal Cemetery. The group chose November 2 as the Lazarus Memorial Burial date since many faith communities mark it as All Souls Day.
I know it sounds odd, but you will leave the ceremony with a quiet feeling of having done something “right” that cannot be repaid in this world. Come and join us as we say goodbye to individuals who may have died alone, but are remembered by our community. Trust me, you will be glad you made the time to say goodbye to those who have no one else to mourn for them.
Beal Cemetery is located at 316 Beal Pkwy N.W., Fort Walton Beach, 32548. Please bring a lawn chair to sit in.
Carolyn Ketchel is Okaloosa County Commissioner, District 2. She can be reached at CKetchel@myokaloosa.com or 860-651-7105.
