RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — On the inside of a short, rocky road in Columbia is the Richland County Cemetery.
The sound of a single guitarist rung out on a sweltering Sunday afternoon as friends and family gathered to honor their loved ones.
Eight people were buried, but not all had friends to say goodbye.
The public service was an opportunity for everyone to be remembered, regardless of background or financial ability.
Dr. Carl Wells offered words of encouragement before a small crowd, with volunteers sprinkled throughout.
“We all stop to wonder in this life, ‘When I’m gone, will someone remember me?’... So today, we come to remember," Wells said. "Hopefully, we walk away from here with a renewed notion… to never forget a single life created by God.”
Among those in attendance was Linda Farrar whose final living brother had died.
“My brother’s name is Robert Morton and he is from Eutawville," Farrar said. "Oh Lord, yeah he was funny."
After the service, she joined other families to cover his plot and leave a flower on his grave.
“I was grateful ‘cause I couldn’t do it for myself ‘cause I’d just took care of my mother," Farrar said. "After I got here, I didn’t know what to expect but… it was done with dignity and respect.”
Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said it's a free community service they're happy to assist with.
"When you think about the members of our community who don’t have someone, who, maybe they felt like they died alone," Rutherford said, "we want to make sure that, even in their death, that we remember them, that we never forget them, that we say their names because they do matter.”
Eight names with a plot to be remembered and visited in the years ahead.