Chester County Coroner's Office Interment Of Unclaimed Veterans

Occasionally there are individuals who pass away in Chester County where the next of kin cannot be located or the next of kin declines responsibility for the individual. In these situations, the Coroner’s Office takes possession of the deceased individual and arranges for a cremation. 

In order to determine if any of these individuals are veterans, and therefore eligible for a military funeral with honors, the Coroner’s Office contacts multiple Veterans' agencies to determine eligibility.

Once we determine a veteran is eligible for a military funeral with honors, we work with the military honors groups to arrange for a ceremony. 

Unclaimed veterans are interred at Washington Crossing National Cemetery every 2 years, and our most recent interment occurred on October 28, 2021. The slideshow to the right are photos from this interment, and the list below are the veterans who were interred on that date.

Special thanks to Deputy Coroner Lindsey Smith and Deputy Coroner William Tinkleman for their hard work on verifying our veterans' eligibility and making the arrangements for the motorcade escort and interment ceremony. 

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Unclaimed Veterans At CCCO to be Interred Fall 2023

Name Age Date of Death Residential Municipality Service Branch Service Era
Brown, Thomas C. 69 08/03/2021 Coatesville City U.S. Marines Vietnam War Era
Dougherty, Patrick 74 06/22/2022 Willistown Twp U.S. Navy Vietnam War Era
Faddis, Charles 68 07/27/2021 Coatesville City U.S. Army Vietnam War Era
Ferrese, William A. 81 01/14/2021 Mayfield, PA U.S. Navy Post-Korean War Era
Forbes, Wayne A. 76 09/11/2022 Willistown Twp U.S. Air Force Vietnam War Era
Jolly, James R. 75 09/13/2022 West Goshen Twp U.S. Army Vietnam War Era
Pierce, Melvin 74 10/26/2022 East Bradford Twp U.S. Army Vietnam War Era
Rhymer, Craig 58 10/16/2022 Baltimore, MD U.S. Marines Post-Vietnam War Era
Schubert, Paul 73 02/24/2021 West Bradford Twp U.S. Navy Vietnam War Era
Schwartz, Frederick K. 76 04/24/2021 South Coventry Twp U.S. Marines Vietnam War Era
Sluder, Bob G. 62 11/10/2021 Downingtown Boro U.S. Navy Post-Vietnam War Era

Unclaimed Veterans Interred October 28, 2021

Name Age Date of Death Residential Municipality Service Branch Service Era
Brown, Marcellus 90 04/21/2020 Tredyffrin Twp U.S. Navy Post-WWII Era
Deignan, William P. 62 01/03/2020 Valley Twp U.S. Navy Post-Vietnam War Era
Fenstermacher, Jeffrey A. 57 03/24/2019 Parkesburg Boro U.S. Army Post-Vietnam War Era
Ford, Oliver C. 76 05/24/2020 Coatesville City U.S. Marines Vietnam War Era
Jones, Gregory D. 62 07/15/2020 Coatesville City U.S. Navy Persian Gulf War Era
Jones, Joseph H. 86 02/09/2019 West Chester Boro U.S. Army Korean War Era
Marsh, Joan M. 73 09/01/2020 Honey Brook Twp Widow of Veteran N/A
Marsh, John W. 73 11/04/2019 Honey Brook Twp U.S. Air Force Vietnam War Era
Ross, Hollis 75 06/21/2020 Caln Twp U.S. Naval Reserve Vietnam War Era