Originally published May 28.

His funeral was held on a cold grey Wednesday morning. No one came.

The casket was pale blue — the cheapest model. A single red rose lay on top, put there by the unseen hand of one of the McInnis & Holloway funeral home workers.

The chapel was beige and silent. There were no religious symbols, just the warm glow from two stained glass windows. The chairs set out in perfect rows, empty. The doors stood open, but there were no mourners to greet — no one to comfort, no friends to mark the passing of a life.

Many unmarked graves can be found in the Queen's Park Cemetery in Calgary. (CBC)

"Whether known and loved by many, or known only by a few, his life indeed mattered," intonedto connect," she says.

Those connections can be made through a social insurance number, a driver's licence, or sometimes immigration papers. Investigators will go into the home of a person who's died and search for clues about their background, such as family letters or papers, anything that could connect them to "next of kin."

The hope is to find someone to claim the body. And sometimes, that someone is surprising.

A different memorial

"Everyone needs to be remembered," says Debbie Newman as she puts her hand on the wooden box.

"This was Ron — a wonderful man. He was 250 pounds of laughter. He was a good friend to so many of the people who stay here."

Newman is the CEO of the Calgary Drop-in Centre. Her office is a few floors removed from