Twenty-eight people who died in Okaloosa County without the means to provide for their own burial will be laid to rest Monday, Nov. 2, during the annual Lazarus Field Memorial Service at Beal Memorial Cemetery in Fort Walton Beach.

• The ecumenical ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and brings together more than 30 clergy and members of various faith communities, according to Okaloosa County Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel.

This year’s service will memorialize individuals ranging in age from 43 to 90, Ketchel said.

The service provides a burial for the cremains of people who otherwise would not have funeral services. Many are senior citizens who outlived their relatives, as well as infants and children whose families are without financial means, according to Ketchel. Others became estranged from their families due to mental illness.

Florida law requires each of the state’s 67 counties to ensure the proper final disposition of indigent and unclaimed deceased persons. Okaloosa County receives an average of 30 to 40 individuals each year who die without family support or the financial means to cover the cost of interment, according to Ketchel.

The ceremony has buried about 800 individuals since it began.

For the past 17 years, Okaloosa County has contracted with private funeral homes to provide cremation services for indigent and unclaimed persons.

When Ketchel first became a commissioner, she asked what happened to those individuals once they were cremated. No one knew, she said. A search of local funeral homes that had contracted with the county over the years turned up approximately 450 sets of cremains in storage.

In 2016, local pastors were invited to plan a service to bury them. That same year, a coordinated effort was developed to purchase seven burial plots at Beal Memorial Cemetery.

• The county initially agreed to pay $7,530 for the plots.
• Area churches took up a collection that contributed $5,000 toward the cost.
• Clergy contributed another $1,481 to purchase and place two benches, one at either end of the burial plots.

The service takes its name from the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Luke about a poor man named Lazarus who went to paradise after struggling on earth.

Emerald Coast Funeral Home and Davis Watkins Funeral Home assist in hosting the ceremony. Each set of cremains is held in a box bearing the individual’s name, and the boxes are placed inside green velvet bags for display. Those attending the outdoor ceremony can pay their respects before it begins.

A printed program includes the order of worship, the music and a list of the individuals being interred. The service includes:

• The ringing of the cemetery bells
• Prayers and scripture readings
• Hymns and music
• A message of faith and hope
• The recitation of each person’s name

The name and date of death of each individual is entered in the Book of Remembrance, which is stored at the cemetery for use by relatives and friends of the deceased.

Beyond Okaloosa: Other counties have begun holding their own ecumenical services, and the Florida Association of Counties recognized Okaloosa County for best practices, according to Ketchel.

Area clergy from multiple denominations meet throughout the year to plan the service. The group chose Nov. 2 because many faith communities mark the date as All Souls Day.