Heartfelt Commemoration of LA County’s Unclaimed Dead
LA County Leaders, Clergy and Community Joined Non-Denomination Ceremony; Laying to Rest the Unclaimed Dead, Including Those who are Indigent and/or Have no Next of Kin
AMTV/LOS ANGELES, Dec 14 – Today, the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, in partnership with the Department of Health Services, Office of Decedent Affairs, and Los Angeles General Medical Center Chaplains, held a poignant non-denominational interfaith burial ceremony at the venerable Los Angeles County Cemetery. The event, dedicated to remembering and honoring LA County’s Unclaimed Dead, saw the respectful burial of 1,937 decedents in a single communal grave.
The Ceremony of the Unclaimed Dead, held the morning of December 14, 2023, provided a compassionate opportunity for the community to pay respects to individuals who passed away in 2020, during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Local faith leaders presided over the ceremony, which included the Lord’s prayer in various languages, representing multiple religions.
The event, open to the public, welcomed 75 in-person attendees to preserve the sanctity of the burial grounds, alongside dignitaries, religious leaders, and media representatives. The County of Los Angeles extends gratitude to those who participated in person and virtually, as the ceremony was LIVE Streamed to allow the broader community to remotely pay their respects to the unclaimed deceased individuals.