After twenty-five years of being estranged from her father, Tracy Colantonio had a bittersweet reunion with him when her father’s ashes were delivered to her after a Good Samaritan found them discarded in an alleyway. Charles Gustin found the remains in a box dumped next to a pile of garbage with the man’s death certificate. After contacting the funeral home who handled the cremation, Gustin was told that the ashes were originally given to his third wife, but she had passed away a year prior. So, not wanting to take the chance that the remains would be discarded a second time, Gustin took it upon himself to make sure the ashes made it back into the hands of a loved one. He found Colantino’s daughter through social media and was thrilled when she expressed her desire to have her father’s ashes after losing touch with him at the age of six. The ashes now sit right next to her mother’s, giving Colantonio the closure she always longed for.
See Angela Mosconi, Former Marine Finds Discarded Ashes, Brings Remains to Deceased’s Daughter, Fox News, March 1, 2017.
