A Ponoka woman is appealing to the public to help pay off a funeral home bill so she can bring the cremated remains of her mother home after over three years since her passing.
Annie (nee Lenz) Rowan of Ponoka passed away suddenly on Dec. 13, 2017 from a heart attack, and now her daughter, Margaret Rowan, is seeking closure.
A family member was the executor of Annie’s estate and due to a variety of circumstances, bills were left unpaid.
Rowan says that she believed everything had been taken care of, until recently when she found out that wasn’t the case.
“The executor hasn’t paid a dime for mom’s funeral, cremation or anything,” said Rowan on the GoFundMe page she set up, ‘Saving Mom’s (Annie’s) Ashes.’
“Her ashes have been sitting at the funeral home for a little over three years and nothing has been done to bring her home or to give her peace.”
Several thousand dollars are still owed to the funeral home.
“At the end of the day, I just want to honour my mother,” said Rowan in an interview with Ponoka News.
Rowan has a disability and is unable to work, which means she lives on a fixed income, making paying off the bill very difficult.
Rowan says she’s determined to pay the bill and hopes to finally bring her mother’s ashes home.
“It would mean closure. It would mean that I have her,” she said.
“I understand what’s going on in the world … any little bit of help we could get, I’d appreciate.”
If she is able to receive her mother’s ashes, her daughter, who was very close to her grandmother, would like some for a locket necklace. The rest would go in an urn that was made locally that features a horse, Annie’s favourite animal.
Rowan stressed that she has no issue with the funeral home, saying they have been very patient with the situation.
The GoFundMe page can be found here.
