On other side of province, another group is trying to bring home one of N.L.'s unclaimed bodies

Residents in Newfoundland and Labrador are trying hard to bring home unclaimed bodies from long-term storage at a hospital in St. John's.

Julia Hall of Labrador City has been working to claim Mario Boucher so that he can be buried in his own community.

And although she didn't know Boucher personally, she said she would often see him walking around the town.

"We're Labradorians, we stick together," Hall told CBC News. "Let's bring him home."

Boucher died in April. He was 66 years old. He worked at a shopping centre in the community, according to Hall.

"Everyone had nothing but good things to say about him. You know, he was hard working, he was kind," she said. "A lot of people commented saying that he would always come and help bring their garbage out."

WATCH | Working to bring Mario Boucher's body home to Labrador West:

Community working to bring unclaimed body home to western Labrador for burial

21 days ago

Duration 2:54

Julia Hall was scanning the province’s new registry of unclaimed remains when she saw a name she recognized. Mario Boucher’s body is in storage in St. John’s, but Hall and others have decided to raise the money to bring him home.

The provincial government launched a website last week that lists the names, ages and locations of the bodies waiting in long-term storage freezers. It's a legislative piece meant to connect next of kin with a deceased loved one, and speed up the process of having the bodies buried.

Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services will hold a body for two weeks before listing it on the website. After five days on the website, and if nobody comes forward, the health authority will handle the burial along with a funeral home.

It's that website where Hall recognized Boucher's name.

Hall says she's been in contact with the extended family of Boucher's spouse. The family isn't able to claim the remains, she said, because of illness and other logistical issues.

Hall applied for the provincial government's funeral assistance program, which she says would provide about $2,500. She was told it can take about three months before she receives any funds. 

She has also considered the idea of fundraising for cremation, flying the remains back to Labrador City and a headstone, and would donate any remaining money to a hospital in Boucher's memory. 

Hall said she's waiting for confirmation from NLHS that she can claim the remains.

"I think he was just one of those people that just wanted to help other people," Hall said. She's hoping to return the favour.

On the island, two business owners in Conception Bay North set out on their own effort last week to bring home the body of a fellow community member for a funeral.

Rendell Crane of Harbour Grace died in 2023, and now restaurateur Pauline Yetman and others want to see him buried next to his wife.

Monitoring the situation

Meanwhile, Newfoundland and Labrador's seniors' advocate says she's been assured that "the best interest of these deceased seniors is being met" by NLHS.

All but two of the bodies in long-term storage right now died as seniors.

On Tuesday, Susan Walsh said she had confirmation that the bodies will return to their home communities for burial.

"I can assure the community that I will continue to monitor this situation to ensure that the burial of deceased unclaimed seniors under the responsibility of N.L. Health Services is being managed in a respectful and appropriate manner," she wrote in a media release.

Walsh said permanent grave markers with the person's name will be erected where they're buried, and staff are being hired to do that work. 

"With the new process and timelines outlined in legislation, this unfortunate situation should be resolved going forward," Walsh said.

The situation of unclaimed remains ending up in long-term storage freezers isn't new for Newfoundland and Labrador.

A court application from 2022 shows the remains of a Shearstown woman, who died in 2009, weren't claimed until 13 years later. A man by the same last name became the executor of her estate at the time.

Three of the bodies currently in storage have been there since 2022, six since 2023, 11 since 2024 and six since the beginning of 2025. 

The youngest is Vence Junior Roberts, who died at 60 years old in Robert's Arm in May, 2024. 

Maurice Brewster of Conception Bay South was the oldest. The 91-year-old died at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's. 

The majority of the people — 19 of 26 — died in health-care facilities or care homes. 

Here are the identities of the remaining individuals:

• Henry James Lewis, 70, died in January 2022 at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital.

• Leonard William Brandt, 71, died in November 2022 in St. John's.

• Chryssanthos Anagnostopoulos, 73, died in December 2022 in St. John's.

• Roy Melvin Cromwell, 84, died in May 2023 at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital.

• Reginald Charles Stuckless, 62, died in August 2023 at the Dr. L.A. Miller Centre.

• Mark Thomas Henderson, 66, died in November 2023 at the Health Sciences Centre.

• Irene Elizabeth Sveikauskas, 71, died in December 2023 at Pleasant View Towers.

• Eric Hayward, 79, died in January 2024 at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital.

• Herbert Paul, 67, died in May 2024 at the Health Sciences Centre.

• Leif Erick Olafsson, 71, died at Carbonear General Hospital.

• Edgar Osbourne, 78, died in June 2024 at the Baie Verte Peninsula Health Centre.

• Jerry Lynn Hinton, 69, died in July 2024 at the Dr. L.A. Miller Centre.

• Benedict Seymour, 74, died in October 2024 at the Agnes Pratt Home.

• Keith Mackenzie Smith, 77, died in October 2024 in Gooseberry Cove.

• Irene Marie Mills, 83, died in October 2024 at Carbonear General Hospital.

• Kevin Loyola Reardon, 72, died in November 2024 in St. John's.

• Julie Ethel Kean, 81, died in December 2024 at the Agnes Pratt Home.

• Bernice Coombs, 77, died in January 2025 at the Pte. Josiah Squibb Memorial Pavilion.

• Suzanne Caroline Bennett, 62, died in February 2025 in St. John's.

• Samuel Joseph Whitten, 74, died in February 2025 at the Health Sciences Centre.

• Walter Edgar Butler, 88, died in February 2025 at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital.

• Joseph Anthony Aspell, 75, died in February 2025 at the Salvation Army Glenbrook Lodge.

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