Imperial County holds Burial Ceremony for deceased residents

The Imperial County Administrator’s Office held an Indigent Burial Ceremony today at Terrace Park Cemetery in Holtville.

The special ceremony is for families that can’t afford to pay funeral expenses for their loved ones.

Fourteen cremated remains were laid to rest, two of them were unidentified bodies.

“Our program is designed to help those that don’t have the funds in order to provide a dignified burial or cremation for their loved ones,” said Rosie Blankenship, Imperial County Public Administrator.

“Often times, many of our deceased are those estranged from their families and no one has claimed their bodies,” Blankenship said.

When nobody claims a deceased person the Imperial County takes over and gets authorization to cremate their remains.

“Years past our office has cremated the remains of decedents that have passed away and scattered them at sea,” Blankenship said.

When I became public administrator, I decided that I was going to change that,” she said.

Blankenship wanted to give family members a place to visit their loved ones.

For Alexis Asensio this ceremony helped bring closure with the passing of her father.

“It was really beautiful it was hard to hold back some tears,” Asensio said.

“I really appreciate it because I couldn’t afford it. For the longest we didn’t think we would get his remains,” Asensio said.

“When we got the letter they were doing the ceremony we got really happy,” Asensio said.

The Imperial County Office Administration plans to continue holding this ceremony for the community.