King County held a memorial for 626 people who had no one to claim their remains or whose families lacked the money for funeral services. Their ashes had been buried in July at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Renton.
At the ceremony, held last week, faith leaders read the names of those who died from 2022 through 2024. The county’s program for people without burial arrangements holds services every few years. Public Health – Seattle & King County said the latest total was a record, compared with 405 burials last year and 137 in 2014.
County Executive Girmay Zahilay said the reasons behind the high number were unclear. The medical examiner’s office keeps remains for at least 18 months before burial, giving people time to claim them.
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