NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — The family of a man who died 28 ago will finally get to spread his ashes thanks to the determination of a woman who found a box containing his remains at a Florida thrift store.
Brittany Gaither tells The Daytona Beach News-Journal she was shopping at Coronado Thrift and Boutique Shop in New Smyrna Beach earlier this month when she found the wooden box in a dresser drawer. It had a Phoenix funeral home label with the name of Robert Roy “Rusty” Fanning and the date of his cremation in 1988.
Gaither decided to track down the family. She posted a Facebook status that was shared more than 120 times. Soon she got contact information for Fanning’s brother.
She mailed the box to the family, which plans spread the ashes near Flagstaff, Arizona.
