Indigent and unclaimed: 494 people memorialized in André House candlelight vigil

Maria Ornelas, 14, looks at a program during an annual Thanksgiving Eve vigil at White Tanks Cemetery in Litchfield Park on Nov. 23, 2022, organized by André House of Arizona. (Photo by Samantha Chow/Cronkite News)

LITCHFIELD PARK – On the night before Thanksgiving, 1,500 luminarias lit the pathways of White Tanks Cemetery to honor those buried in Maricopa County’s potter’s field – the final resting place for thousands of indigent and unclaimed for nearly three decades.

Every year, André House of Arizona organizes the candlelight event to remember those who have been buried there since the previous year’s Thanksgiving Eve vigil. Volunteers last week took turns reading the names of 494 people, who were buried by the Maricopa County Public Fiduciary’s Office.

André House of Arizona is a Phoenix nonprofit Christian ministry that aims to help people experiencing homelessness.

Samantha Chow suh-man-thuh chow (she/her/hers)
News Visual Journalist, Phoenix

Samantha Chow expects to graduate in spring 2023 with a master’s degree in mass communication. She has interned as a photographer at The Arizona Republic, Phoenix Magazine, Mesa Public Schools and Arizona Highways, and is taking pictures for ASU Media Relations.