Kentucky man bids those with no loved ones a dignified farewell

In Louisville, Ky., there's a civil servant who has devoted his life to death. "Because I finally realized that this is where I belong, and I was called to do this," says Buddy Dumeyer, who, after retiring as a police captain, sought out and got a job with the Jefferson County coroner's office.

Specifically, he wanted the job burying Louisville's poor and homeless. For years, these people had been buried, unceremoniously, in a potter's field. You can tell by the grave markers how the county couldn't have cared less.

"There had to be a better way," Dumeyer says. "When you and I come into this world, we have a mom and dad, loving arms around us, people taking care of us. When we leave this world, when we give people back, we don't want to give them back alone."

To that end, Buddy now makes sure no funeral in Louisville is ever unattended. He has teamed up with three local high schools to provide volunteers, not only for carrying the casket, but for mourning the loss.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57595778/kentucky-man-bids-those-with-no-loved-ones-a-dignified-farewell/