As white women between 25 and 55 die at spiking rates, a close look at one tragedy.
They had been expecting a full processional with a limousine and a police escort, but the limousine never came and the police officer was called away to a suspected drug overdose at the last minute. That left 40 friends and relatives of Anna Marrie Jones stranded outside the funeral home, waiting for instruction from the mortician about what to do next. An uncle of Anna’s went to his truck and changed from khakis into overalls. A niece ducked behind the hearse to light her cigarette in the stiff Oklahoma wind.
Above: A family photo of Anna Marrie Jones and David Parish with children Maryann and Davey. The newspaper death announcement for her mother, saved by Maryann Payne.
“Just one more thing for Mom that didn’t go as planned,” said Tiffany Edwards, the youngest surviving daughter. She climbed into her truck, put on the emergency flashers and motioned for everyone else to follow behind in their own cars. They formed a makeshift processional of dented pickups and diesel exhaust, driving out of town, onto dirt roads and up to a tiny cemetery bordered by cattle grazing fields. In the back there was a fresh plot marked by a plastic sign.
[For more of this story, written by Eli Saslow, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/...2%3Ahomepage%2Fstory]
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