My brother, John (Jack) J. Alagona, was born October 18, 1948 and was found dead in his room on June 6, 2014.
Sadly, due to his relapse of drug usage I had not spoken with him since early 2014. In October, 2014, I decided to reach out to him especially due to his upcoming birthday. It was then that I discovered that my brother had died 4 months earlier. In the course of the dozen or so phone calls I made with various government agencies and police, I was told that a search for his next-of-kin was made but to no avail. While I will always wonder why/how I could not be located given the fact that my brother had a Facebook account and I was one of his (very few) friends, I suppose at this point in time it no longer matters. Strangely, I also learned from the Chief Medical Examiner's office that although they do not typically hold bodies beyond 10 days, my brother was not buried until September 18, 2014, more than 3 months after his death.
I just want to add that I arranged to have his body exumed from Hart Island and had his cremated remains placed in our mother's crypt in St. Catharine's Cemetery in Sea Girt, NJ on November 17, 2014.
I was unaware of The Hart Island Project until we accidentally stumbled upon it recently.
Jack is survived by his daughter, Nikole, his granddaughter, Gianna, his aunt, Pauline, his sister-in-law, Mieke and me, his only sister.
May he rest in peace......
Sally P. Alagona