The Eugene Weekly has committed to writing obituaries for each person who dies on the streets in Lane County this year.
Arts Editor Bob Keefer wanted to profile homeless people who have died. “If there’s a goal to this it’s that more people will realize that all the people you see out there in tents and cars and doorways are actual human beings with lives and families,” Keefer told KLCC.
In the first obit, we learn of Ivory Irene McCuen. She was found in a hypothermic state on January 24th in a parking lot in Eugene. She died on the way to the hospital. Keefer said McCuen was 30 years old and a mother of two.
“She was not a nobody," said Keefer. "And I think that’s what I want to bring to this is afford the simple dignity of an obituary that someone who was better known in the community might get.”
The other death was Hazel Dai of Eugene, who died January 8th. An obituary for Dai will be published in a future issue of the paper. If you know of local deaths on the streets you can contact Bob Keefer: Bob@EugeneWeekly.com.
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