Service in Watkinsville to honor veterans who died with no one to claim their remains

Eight military veterans from the Athens area who died within the past 27 years without anyone to claim their remains will be honored Monday at a memorial service in Watkinsville.

The most recent death was that of 68-year-old Charlie Alvin Thomas, who died in July at his Athens home. He was found on the floor after his neighbor, Billy Hughes, came over to take him grocery shopping at Walmart.

Thomas had no transportation as he had a brain aneurysm that made driving potentially dangerous for himself and others.

“He was a good man. He didn’t cuss. He didn’t drink. He didn’t smoke. He was a good neighbor,” Hughes said.

The memorial service for Thomas and the seven others takes place at 2 p.m. Monday at Lord & Stephens West Chapel, 1211 Jimmy Daniel Road. The public is invited.

The next day a service will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, for a graveside service with full military honors.

Photos: Memorial Day ceremony at Oconee Veterans Park

Funeral home owner Tom Lord said the idea for a military funeral for the unclaimed remains of these veterans was initiated by funeral director Whitney Burkhalter.

“Every funeral home I know of has unclaimed remains for people who were cremated,” Burkhalter said in a recent interview.  “People never picked them up or they were coroner cases and they didn’t have family when they passed away.”

Burkhalter, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, said she has a friend in another DAR chapter that attended a memorial service at the military cemetery in Canton that was sponsored by the Missing in America Project, a non-profit organization that assists with hosting services for the unclaimed remains of veterans.

“She knew this was relevant to my interests and sent me a flier,” Burkhalter recalled.

“I had never heard of anything like that and never thought about it, but this is a great idea,” she said.

She believed that some of the unclaimed remains the funeral home retained over the years must have some military veterans that would qualify for a funeral under the program.

She began researching.

“We had so many more than I anticipated,” she said. Burkhalter even located a husband and wife who were veterans.

“The fact that both of them were veterans was special to me,” she said about the couple, who had a daughter, who had passed away leaving no other close family.

Those who will be honored at the memorial service, according to information compiled by Burkhalter, are:

• Sgt. Edward Charles Munie, 85, of Athens died Sept. 6, 1995. Born in Belleville, Ill., he served with the U.S. Army from 1941-43. He later worked as a steam fitter in the construction industry. His wife, Cpl. Edith Allen Marsh Munie, 80, died Feb. 14, 1996. She served with the U.S. Marine Corp from 1943-45 as a calculating machine operator working on inventories and payrolls. The couple later moved to Athens to be near their daughter, who has also died.

• Sgt. Ronald Gary Pierce, 54, of Jefferson, died Aug. 13, 2000. He was born in Atlanta and enlisted with the Army in 1964 serving in Vietnam and earning the Army Expert Marksmanship Badge. He worked to overcome addiction and homelessness and died at the Potter’s House in Jefferson.

• Private Thomas James Barnes, 77, of Winterville, died Oct. 3, 2004.  He served with the U.S. Army on stateside assignments during World War II.  He lived in Chicago and later moved to Georgia.

• Private William Lawrence Trawick, 72, of Hull, died Jan. 12, 2010. Born in Pontiac, Mich., he served with the U.S. Army from 1955-57. He later worked for General Motors. He had children and grandchildren, but none of whom the funeral home has been able to locate.

• Private James Norman Griffin, 84, of Bogart, died Nov. 24, 2011. Born in Adel, he served with the U.S. Army from 1945-46.  He worked as a ceramic tile contractor.

• Specialist 4 William Jack Radder, 71, of Winterville died Aug. 22, 2013. Born in St. Louis, Mo., he served with the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War from 1966-67.  He died at home with no known family and his cremation was authorized by a coroner in Oglethorpe County.

• Specialist 4 Charlie Alvin Thomas, 68, died July 23, 2020. He served with the U.S. Army from 1973-75 and was a medical assistant stationed in Hawaii. He once worked as a cook. He was divorced and lived quietly at his home in Athens in his later years.

In her notes on Thomas, Buckhalter wrote “Charlie died at home without any family. He probably did not arrange for a funeral service because he didn’t think anyone would come.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Memorial planned in Watkinsville for veterans with no known family