The family of a Bergen County woman whose body has not been claimed since her death last month has until the weekend to arrange a funeral before a local funeral home takes over.
Eternity Funeral Services in Englewood has not been able to locate any relatives since Carmela Polimeni’s death on July 17 at the CareOne at Cresskill nursing home, the funeral home said in a statement in the Record this week.
If no one comes forward to collect the body by Saturday, one month after Polimeni’s death, the funeral home will “take appropriate measures in accordance with local laws and regulations and ensure an honorable burial,” the statement said.
Eternity has attempted to reach Polimeni’s friends and family in Leonia, where she lived, and in Italy, executive director Aree Booker told NorthJersey.com Tuesday afternoon, but all of the phone numbers provided were either incorrect or no longer valid.
The property manager of Polimeni’s apartment complex told Eternity that no family or friends had visited her in the 25 years she lived there, Booker said. Seeing no other option, the funeral home placed the ad in the newspaper as a way to contact her loved ones.
“We just want Ms. Polimeni to be laid to rest peacefully,” Booker said.
Under New Jersey law, all unidentified or unclaimed bodies must be examined by the local medical examiner or an assistant medical examiner or a licensed physician appointed by either of them for that purpose. After that, the body “shall be buried by the coroner at the expense of the county.”
Eternity has been in contact with CareOne since the nursing home first contacted her after Polimeni’s death, Booker said. Her body will be buried in an “unmarked” or unmarked grave if it has not yet been claimed.
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Booker said that since the ad was published, strangers have contacted him asking if Polimeni’s funeral could be paid for. Some suggested cremation, which is not allowed by law, but Booker said he would “absolutely honor” burial at a local church.
Anyone with information on Polimeni’s next of kin is asked to contact Booker at 201-568-2671.
