Holmes County to honor 71 unclaimed cremains with cemetery burial

Holmes County is preparing to give 71 unclaimed cremains a permanent resting place at Oak Hill Cemetery after the Volunteer Guardianship Program of Holmes County found the ashes stored at Alexander Funeral Home in Millersburg and a few more at Smith-Varns Funeral Home. The county will formally honor those former residents at a May 31 dedication, turning a difficult discovery into a public act of respect.

The effort centers on dignity, even after death. For county officials and the guardianship program, the issue was not simply where the remains had been stored, but how Holmes County should respond when people have no family able to claim them. The planned burial at Oak Hill Cemetery is meant to create a permanent resting place and make sure these residents are not left forgotten in storage.

The groundwork for the project goes back at least to June 2021, when Holmes County Probate Judge Tom Lee and County Home Superintendent Deb Miller discussed creating a memorial site for deceased indigents at the County Home. By March 2023, Millersburg Village Council had approved donating space in Oak Hill Cemetery for the interment of unclaimed cremains. Lee said county commissioners agreed to pay for the grave markers, which will include each person’s name, date of birth and date of death.

Oak Hill Cemetery was considered a natural fit because it is an established cemetery in a central Holmes County location. Its long burial history and place in the middle of Millersburg give the site a permanence that fits the county’s goal: a respectful, visible resting place for residents who otherwise might have disappeared from the record.

The Volunteer Guardianship Program of Holmes County is an official Holmes County Probate Court program that works with vulnerable people, and Pam Maxfield-Ontko serves as its coordinator. Residents who may be able to help identify family connections or who want to understand the effort better can reach her at the courthouse. The program’s role in this case shows how local institutions can step in when family systems, paperwork or time have failed, and how Holmes County is choosing to answer that failure with burial, markers and public accountability.