When a woman cleared out Barry Ross’s home after his death, she found almost nothing linking him to the outside world except one letter, two years old, from a childhood friend inviting him to a Phillies game.
That small artifact set in motion a determined effort by two longtime friends to ensure Ross was given a respectful burial, writes Jo Ciavaglia for Bucks County Courier Times.
Ross, a 1968 graduate of Central Bucks West High School, was remembered by those who knew him as athletic, kind, and easy to be around. For decades, he kept close friendships, none more enduring than the one with Bob Schmieder, who first befriended Ross at Lenape Middle School.
But somewhere along the way, Ross began pulling back. By around 2015, contact had all but disappeared.
Schmieder kept writing anyway. Then, in early 2024, a woman who had helped Ross with errands called to deliver news of Ross’s death.
When the woman searched Ross’s home for family contacts, the most recent piece of mail she could find was a 2022 note from Schmieder, an invitation to catch a Phillies game.
With no relatives located, Ross had been cremated at county expense.
Schmieder shared that the details of Ross’s withdrawal and his passing remain a mystery, saying, “He just shut off. What exactly happened, I’m totally at a loss.”
More than a year after that call, Schmieder discovered Ross’s ashes were still unclaimed. He arranged to have them interred alongside Ross’s parents at Doylestown Cemetery.
The gesture moved another childhood friend, John Miller, to launch a fundraiser to add Ross’s name to the family headstone. The joint effort marks a small but lasting way to keep the duo’s friend from being forgotten.
Learn more about two local resident’s efforts to give their friend a dignified burial in Bucks County Courier Times.
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