The strange journey for Charles Sheets ended the afternoon of May 29 at Crossville’s City Cemetery. His cremains were interred during a brief ceremony attended by eight individuals.
Among those in attendance was Jeff Mercier, who spent the past 10 months seeking information on the Air Force veteran and trying to track down his family. Quartermaster of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5025 in Crossville and a retired Air Force veteran, Mercier served as Sheets’ surrogate relative since last July.
“I didn’t do this for personal satisfaction,” Mercier said. “It’s doing the right thing for a veteran. Some people suggested burying him at the property of the VFW or in a scenic area. That didn’t sit right with me.”
Sheets, a Kentucky native who served in the Air Force during the Korean War, passed away July 11, 2022. He worked as a carpenter and in construction in Crossville and died at the age of 92. He was cremated, and his cremains were placed in an urn in a plastic container. Last August, they were discovered in a storage shed.
Bethany Brown, who bought the storage unit at an auction, was sorting through the contents when she came across a 4-by-8-inch plastic container with a handwritten note attached to the outside.
On it was the name Charles Sheets, his birthdate, date of death, Social Security number, and “Air Force Veteran.” Inside the container was a cremation ID tag and an urn with Sheets’ cremains.
Brown took the cremains to Post 5025 headquarters and donated them with the request to take care of the “issue.”
Post officials subsequently checked with the state and national VFW and local American Legion and learned Sheets was not a member of these organizations. Due to privacy laws, the Air Force would not release details on Sheets’ service record, according to Jay McClain, senior vice commander of Post 5015.
According to McClain, the Hood Funeral Home name was also on the container. Brown subsequently contacted the funeral parlor on Hwy. 127 and learned Sheets’ cremains had been released to his family following his death in July 2022. McClain said the funeral home would not take back the cremains.
Mercier’s efforts to locate Sheets’ family were a lesson in perseverance. Through extensive internet research, he learned Sheets had two sons, one of whom passed away at the age of 57. They lived with Sheets in Crossville before moving back to Kentucky.
Mercier said he was unable to get in touch with the surviving son and was unable to determine when the sons left Crossville.
On May 29, Sheets’ “family” gave him a proper sendoff. The group included Willard Dale, a 94-year-old chaplain who gave the invocation and is member of the local Korean War Veterans group; Nancy Mitchell, a member of the Cumberland County Community Band who played taps, and her husband, Terry; Greta Wilkinson and a couple from the Disabled American Veterans; and Tony Olivo, commander of the VFW.
Mercier said the overcast weather could have contributed to the low turnout, but he was thankful for those who showed up.
“They’re good people who cared,” Mercier said. “I’m grateful to put him to rest.”