Long-forgotten remains returned to Warren family

Ashes of man who died in 1993 found under Franklin Street stairway

EastBayRI.com ·

The long-forgotten remains of a man who died nearly a quarter century ago were reunited with his family Sunday, less than a week after a Warren man found them while repairing a staircase in his home.

“They had no clue that they were there, 170 Franklin St. resident Joseph Brum said of the family of Robert Edward Leach, 76, who died in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. in June 1993.

But after online sleuthing and some luck, Mr. Brum was able to return Mr. Leach’s ashes to his great-granddaughter, who lives in Warren, Sunday.

Mr. Brum found the remains Monday, Jan. 23 while replacing treads on the home’s main set of stairs.

They were tucked underneath the lowest tread, which was accessible from a closet underneath the stairs. They had been tucked so far back, though, that he had never noticed them before.

“When I got to the last one there was a small duffle bag with a tin inside. I was joking that maybe it was loaded with money.”

Instead, the tin contained a plastic bag of cremains, as well as a cremation certificate, which noted his date of death and the funeral home that facilitated the cremation.

Mr. Brum talked it over with his wife Sandra and soon after put up a notice on Facebook, looking for help.

“This isn’t something you just throw away,” he said. “We would like to be able to do the right thing.”

The online post took off Friday. A reporter’s questions and Social Media drew a trail from Middleboro, Mass., to Florida and Texas, before his great-granddaughter was located here in town.

Here is what searchers found:

Mr. Leach was born in Middleboro, Mass., but lived in Wilton Manor, Fla., right outside of Ft. Lauderdale, from 1965 until his death. He was a widower upon his death in 1993, and funeral home records indicate services were paid for by Charles King, listed in paperwork as his son-in-law. Though the funeral home listed Mr. King as having an address in Ft. Lauderdale, he was also the former owner of the Brums’ home on Franklin Street.

In 2000, Mr. King transferred title of the home to his wife — Mr. Leach’s daughter — Marjorie Aragao King. She held on to the house for 15 years before selling to the Brums two years ago.

Internet searches traced Ms. King to Bastrop, Texas, and possibly Florida. However, a phone number for her in Bastrop was disconnected, and a funeral home worker there said there were no death records locally for either a Marjorie King or Marjorie Leach.

Though searchers were unable to find Mr. Leach’s daughter, she apparently had at least one child, as she sent her daughter to the closing when he and his wife closed on the house.

One Internet commenter said Ms. King was living in Florida with her daughter; soon after, Mr. Brum was contacted by that daughter’s daughter (Mr. Leach’s great-granddaughter), who agreed to come out Sunday to pick up the remains.

“She believes that her grandfather put him there and never really told anyone that he was there,” he said.