Cremated remains found in Dumpster get a final resting place in Milton Mills

The headstone that will lie atop the grave of Nancy Plosza (Courtesy photo)

MILTON - How the cremated remains of Nancy Ellen Plosza of Edinboro, Pa., wound up in a Dumpster behind a Milton second hand store may never be known.

That doesn't matter now.

All that matters is that today during a simple ceremony at Milton Mills Cemetery she will find her final resting place, with the dignity and respect everyone deserves.

Milton Mills Cemetery Association president John Katwick has been working more than two months trying to see that Plosza - who died in 2006 at the age of 63 - gets a proper burial.

"When you find the remains of a human like this you have to feel for the poor lady," Katwick said on Friday.

The discovery of Plosza's remains came during the summer when the new owners at A&E Second Hand found them in a Dumpster in back of the store left by the previous owners.

As they rummaged through the items they found a container labeled "Cremation Remains" along with the address of a crematory in Pennsylvania and Plosza's name.

When one of the owners mentioned the find to a customer they suggested they call Katwick, who is also the chairperson for the Milton Cemetery Trustees.

"I have respect for whoever it is, and just throwing her in the Dumpster, well, you can't do that," Katwick said.

Katwick contacted the cremation service in Pennsylvania and learned that the remains had originally been sent to the woman's daughter who lived in Goffstown.

When he called Goffstown Police, he learned that the daughter had moved to Manchester, however, Manchester Police said they couldn't help as it was a matter of privacy.

Milton Police were also notified, but in the end, no contact information was available on any family members, so Katwick took matters into his own hands, contacting the state Division of Historical Resources, which granted permission for the woman to be buried at the Milton Mills Cemetery.

Katwick said the owners of A&E Second Hand are to be commended for their coming forward with the information.

"These remains could have ended up in a landfill if it wasn't for the owner of this business," Katwick said in his letter to state officials.

Katwick on Friday said he was also concerned that members of the woman's family down the road might come up empty when trying to trace their ancestor's life.

"Now if someone is doing genealogy on this family and wants to find her they'll be able to," he said.

Dignified Cemetery Services of Chichester will be donating time and labor for the burial, and the Milton Mills Cemetery Association is donating the plot and headstone.

"It's time we put her to rest someplace, with dignity," Katwick said