New Yorkers to provide funeral for Nine homeless individuals lost to cold
Nine individuals experiencing homelessness who perished from the cold during last winter will receive a memorial service and dignified interment, thanks to the generosity of New Yorkers. These individuals were among 18 found deceased outdoors during a period of extreme cold, with temperatures dropping as low as 3 degrees. While some families claimed the remains of half the victims, the others were slated for burial on Hart Island, the city’s Potter’s Field.
Rhonda Roland Shearer, founder of Art Science Research Laboratory and Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes, intervened to ensure a more respectful farewell.
The memorial service will be held at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue on Monday, November 2nd, at 5:30 p.m. during an All Souls Day Mass. The ashes of the deceased will be laid to rest within the church’s Resurrection Chapel, and the service is open to the public.
The individuals being honored are: James Paul Smith, 51, born in South Carolina and found deceased December 3, 2025, near East 150th Street and Melrose Avenue in the Bronx; Manjeet Singh, 38, originally from India and found December 5, 2025, along the Van Wyck Expressway in Queens; Harold Hemphill, 66, born in South Carolina and found December 13, 2025, at West 173rd Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights; Tomeka Ryeshera Gibson, 39, born in Manhattan and found December 22, 2025, at West 135th Street and Broadway in Harlem; Jorge Elias Rivera Torres, 61, born in Puerto Rico and found December 30, 2025, near Gardner and Metropolitan Avenues in Brooklyn; Jeffrey Costa, 47, born in Queens and found January 21, 2026, on Queens Boulevard; Edward “Eduardo” Adames, 54, found January 24, 2026, near First Avenue and East 69th Street in Manhattan; Jose M. “Joseph” Pena, 74, who had lived near Woodhaven Boulevard and the Long Island Expressway in Queens since 2020 and found February 3, 2026; and Igor Zapevalov, 64, originally from Russia and found February 10, 2026, in a doorway vestibule on East 7th Street in the East Village.
All Souls Day is a Christian observance dedicated to remembering and honoring the deceased.
“We’re honoring and purely recognizing the humanity in each person,” Shearer told The Post.
Along with Shearer and the church, the non-profit Housing Works assisted in arranging the event. Patrick J. Marmo, owner of International Funeral & Cremation Services of New York, donated the funeral arrangements.
“As a lifelong New Yorker and a funeral director for over 30 years, I have always believed that every life deserves to be honored with dignity and respect,” Marmo stated.
Shearer expressed hope that the service will raise awareness of the vulnerable individuals who die on the streets each winter and encourage the city to improve its preparedness in the coming months. “I hope this will make everybody more alert to prevent this again,” she said.
Source
“Generous donors arrange dignified funeral for 9 homeless New Yorkers who froze to death”
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