In September 2017, Daniels Family Funeral Services in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an NFDA member and part of the Signature Group, took part in a service that helped lay to rest persons who were unclaimed from Bernalillo County.
Mike Watkins, vice president of operations and compliance for the Signature Group and former senior vice president of operations for NFDA, shares the importance of this work to his organization, stating, “The Signature Group’s participation in the Bernalillo County indigent program stems from our seeing a genuine need for our community to do a better job of honoring those in our community who are less fortunate than ourselves.”
Daniels Family Funeral Services’ participation began after Mark Shalz, Signature Group vice president of operations for New Mexico, contacted the director of the program on behalf of the funeral home to see how the firm could help. Notes Watkins: “The program has been in existence since 2010 and was being serviced by another funeral home at the time we stepped in to help. A ‘paupers cemetery’ [had been] utilized, and it just was not a very dignified event."
Per New Mexico statutes, all counties “must administer an unclaimed and indigent burial program and be responsible for the disposition of those bodies,” according to Rick Nathanson, Albuquerque Journal staff writer. In total, the cremated remains of 581 people have been interred under the program, with 86 individuals being interred in Daniels’ ceremony.
The partnership has been mutually beneficial, according to Watkins. “We offered to take over the contract, and this has blossomed into a wonderful relationship,” he shares. “We established a place in our perpetual care cemetery, Fairview Memorial Park, and donated space in the most prominent location in the cemetery for these persons to be placed. We also donate the caskets and services of our staff for the event. We have erected a monument in their honor and have plans to erect a large tablet listing the names of those interred.”
Watkins has seen the impact not just on the families served but on the broader community. He explains: “The beautiful thing is that all county officials come out to honor these seemingly forgotten members of our community. The sheriff’s department meets us at the funeral home, where the two caskets with the cremated remains are placed, and escorts us to the cemetery, where we are greeted by the Bernalillo County Fire Department with an American flag raised from a ladder truck. County officials act as pallbearers, the news media cover the event, there are musicians and we have two ministers lead the service.
“It’s an amazing sight,” Watkins continued. “For that moment, we unite as one community to remember these individuals. The message, ‘You are not alone; you are part of the Bernalillo County family,’ is reinforced by all those present.”
Not surprisingly, reaction to Daniels’ involvement – and to the larger program in general – has been largely positive. “We’ve received very positive feedback from our county officials, and while we have not had the honor of meeting family members of most of these persons, those who have attended the service have expressed tremendous gratitude that their loved one has been honored in such a special way despite their financial challenges,” Watkins described. “And at the end of the day, isn’t that why we’re here? We believe that every life has meaning and deserves to be recognized and honored.”