‘They all had someone who loved them’: Ashes of more than 20 bodies unclaimed at Belton, Texas funeral home
Eight bodies were finally claimed by family in the last month thanks to social media post.
BELTON, Texas (KWTX) - The owner of Crotty Funeral Home has more than 20 unclaimed bodies, and while she has the information identifying the remains, she has no idea who is missing them.
The funeral home is located at 5431 I-14 Frontage Road in Belton.
Each box holds dust that once represented life. But it isn’t just boxes of unclaimed ashes, she has unclaimed bodies too.
“They’ve been considered abandoned so we decided to claim their bodies and do something about it,” Jarrah Crotty, the owner of the funeral home, told KWTX.
Crotty says it happens more than you think. People perish and there isn’t really a process to find their family.
“There were people that were missing persons, they were reported missing, and we have them. There just needs to be something done about the process of dealing with this in our county,” she said.
A row of tiny boxes represent a tiny life, babies who are still waiting to go home. Some of the bodies have been unclaimed as far back as 2018.
So far, through a social media post made by Crotty Funeral Home, eight bodies have been claimed.
Crotty says some were grateful to finally know and some were angry that they didn’t know sooner.
Others, however, have “not heard at all.”
“I was the first person that contacted them and I didn’t really expect that so being the one responsible for telling them that their loved one passed away. That has been hard,” Crotty explained.
It’s a mission the small business is passionate to carry on as they know every body is someone’s loved one.
“I just can’t stand the fact of people not having someone. Everyone of those people had a life and everyone of those people had someone that loves them,” Crotty says.
If you are missing a family member and would like to check in with Crotty Funeral Home to see if your family member is there, you can give them a call at (254) 933-0900.
The list of names, day of death and location of death that she has are as follows:
Gilbert Ordonez – DOB: 07/06/1964 – DOD: 09/05/2023 (Killeen)
Elli Junior Shelvin – DOB: 08/28/1961 – DOD: 08/06/2022 (Belton Jail)
Martha Hiner – DOB: 10/11/1966 – DOD: 12/26/2023 (Killeen)
Steve Honaker – DOB: 05/20/1962 – DOD: 08/01/2023 (Temple)
Larry Wayne Glodt – DOB: 06/06/1953 – DOD: 05/26/2024 (Temple)
Eddie V. Ficham – DOB: 08/14/1959 – DOD: 10/18/2024 (Scott & White)
Kimberly Coots – DOB: 01/18/1967 – DOD: 06/07/2025 (Scott & White)
Ashimiyu Yusuf – DOB: 02/16/1955 – DOD: 11/21/2023 (Killeen)
Jesse E. Caravella – DOB: 08/11/1963 – DOD: 11/02/2023 (Temple)
Sharon Abby – DOB: 08/25/1956 – DOD: 02/05/2023 (Killeen)
John Ward – DOB: 03/01/1946 – DOD: 07/30/2023 (Killeen)
Reinaldo Torres – DOB: 12/28/1953 – DOD: 08/10/2023 (Advent ER)
Clifford W. Dalton – DOB: 01/20/1961 – DOD: 08/11/2023 (Advent ER)
Paula Bartee – DOB: Not on File – DOD: 07/29/2024 (Killeen)
Steven M. Rogers – DOB: 11/27/1959 – DOD: 10/30/2024 (Temple)
Michael Thorton – DOB: 06/15/1971 – DOD: 06/09/2024 (Hotel in Killeen)
In addition, they have the body of Glen Ybanez. He died in August of 2024. Ybanez was a veteran. The funeral home says he had no next of kin and they are preparing a proper burial for his body.
They have update the list of names on their social media, as they continue to claim bodies that .
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