by Logan Finney, Idaho Reports
Idaho code spells out how county coroners can dispose of unclaimed ashes, but the law does not address whether private funeral businesses are able to do so. Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls, presented House Bill 502 to the House Business Committee on Monday seeking to address the issue.
“We have a situation in statute where it does not clearly say what mortuaries or funeral home directors can do if they’re left with unclaimed ashes,” Mickelsen said. “Currently, there is a way to do that if somebody’s a veteran, but there’s not a way to do that if they’re just somebody that’s ashes have been left with a mortuary.”
If cremated remains go unclaimed for more than one year, HB 502 would allow funeral homes to dispose of them in a manner consistent with how counties handle the ashes of people who could not pay for funeral proceedings. Under the bill, funeral directors and morticians would be required to maintain records of the location and date of the disposition of the ashes for at least ten years.
“We want to do everything that we can as a funeral home and funeral industry to respect loved ones’ remains,” said Kelby Dayley from Coltrin Mortuary & Crematory in Idaho Falls.
East Idaho News reported that Dayley first brought the issue to Mickelsen’s attention, and their mortuary has in its possession unclaimed ashes dating back to 2013.
“On this side of the state, funeral homes are running about 12 to 15 unclaimed cremated remains over the last 10 to 12 years,” Dayley said. “We’re holding on to them. We’d like to get rid of them lawfully and respectfully. If families aren’t claiming their loved ones’ remains, it shouldn’t be the funeral home’s responsibility to cover the unexpected costs.”
The committee voted unanimously to send HB 502 to the House floor.
Different counties over the years have used different methods to handle unclaimed cremains. For example, Cloverdale Funeral Home in Boise donated crypt space to Ada County as a resting place for unclaimed ashes. Other counties have simply stored unclaimed urns on a shelf in a county office, according to past news coverage.
Logan Finney | Producer
Logan Finney is a North Idaho native with a passion for media production and boring government meetings. He grew up skiing, hunting and hiking in the mountains of Bonner County and has maintained a lifelong interest in the state’s geography, history and politics. Logan joined the Idaho Reports team in 2020 as a legislative session intern and stayed to cover the COVID-19 pandemic. He was hired as an associate producer in 2021 and they haven’t been able to get rid of him since.