Funerals are usually for family and friends, a place to pay respects and share memories. But what happens when no one knows the deceased?
“She didn’t have anybody, you know,” said Lisa Angelini, one of a steady stream of mourners who came to Connor-Healy Funeral Home in Manchester on a sunny Monday afternoon to offer a prayer for a newborn. Police originally called the infant “Baby Jane Doe,” but she’s come to be known as Baby Grace.
Her body was found in March, floating in Pine Island Pond, not far from a runway at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Authorities so far have been unable to identify her or figure out who her parents may have been. Yet her short, tragic, anonymous life drew a crowd of strangers to her memorial Monday.
“To be able to recognize that we’re all part of everybody else’s life, and to be able to give her time, is the least that somebody could do,” said Angelini.
Inside the funeral home, Baby Grace was held inside of a small white casket; pink and white flowers flanked the visiting area. A Manchester police officer, in full dress, stood by her side.
Outside of the funeral home, shouts and laughter from a nearby Boys and Girls Club playground greeted people as they exited the memorial service.
“Lovely and sad,” said Timothy Lambrou, who attended with his wife. “We’ve got kids ourselves, so.”
Also on the sidewalk outside the funeral home were a small group of anti-abortion activists who handed out pamphlets. Some cars in the funeral home’s parking lot were dotted with pro-life bumper stickers.
“I’ve been in pro-life since my mid-teens,” said Mike Aiello of Manchester, “and this is a way to honor the child that I usually don’t get to honor, you just get to pray for. So hopefully she has a decent burial and her soul will be in heaven.”
New Hampshire has a safe haven law that allows parents to surrender their newborns — no questions asked — at certain locations around the state, including fire houses.
Tarsha Barton of Franklin, N.H., who brought flowers to lay beside the casket, says part of the sadness about the situation is simply not knowing what led Grace to be abandoned.
“You never know what could have been the case. Like, maybe this person didn’t want to do this,” she said. “You never know.”
The Manchester Police Department is still seeking tips and is offering a reward. So far, though, the only concrete information officials have released is that the baby was likely left in Pine Island Park sometime between March 25 and 27.
“The police department has done an incredible job of getting information out there, pertaining to both this service and ceremony this evening,” said Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais. “But also working with the community to continue to keep the story alive so that we can get answers and a resolution for Baby Grace.”
For now, though, there are only questions.
And for Grace, a final home at Saint Joseph Cemetery in Bedford, N.H.
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