A FINAL SALUTE FOR A HERO.

Byline: STACI MATLOCK

The people who buried John Quincy Lott on Friday afternoon in Santa Fe National Cemetery didn't know him, only that he was a fellow military veteran.

They made sure that the World War II veteran and 25-year military serviceman received at least the minimum ceremony befitting a comrade -- an honor guard, a white-laced draped table, a folded American flag, prayers and a rifle salute.

Born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1917, Lott died Oct. 12 at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Albuquerque. His only child, a daughter living in Massachusetts, didn't have the money to fly out and claim him.

Lott had no other kin to take him and left no money for his burial. Bernalillo County, following standard procedure, had his remains taken to New Mexico Mortuary.

Mary Millard, his Albuquerque neighbor for

20 years and then his caretaker, called the county and was told that she needed to pay $485 if she claimed his remains. They couldn't just give the remains to her without violating the state's anti-donation law.

While she was going through his paperwork, a card for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 401 fell out. It said he was a lifetime member.

Millard reached Fred Ortiz, the VFW state service officer, and asked if the group could help her pay to retrieve Lott's remains. Ortiz had never had a call like that. The idea that a veteran's remains might go unclaimed and receive a pauper's burial without honors angered him.

"He was a veteran and he deserves to be buried honorably at the national cemetery," said Ortiz, a Vietnam vet.

But the VFW didn't have money either. "Our

office handles benefits, disabilities and pensions," Ortiz said. "We don't have money to pay for remains."

The VFW put the word out and other veterans groups around the state helped raise the money.

Once the state Veterans Affairs Office learned of the situation, they stepped in. Lott isn't the first veteran to die in New Mexico with no next of kin to claim the body. Bernalillo County can release remains to the state Veterans Affairs Office free of charge because it is another government entity. The county now plans to refund the VFW's money, according to John M. Garcia, secretary of the New Mexico Office of Veteran Affairs.

Lott served in the Army during WWII and in the Air Force, receiving a good conduct medal before

he was honorably discharged. A black-and-white

military photo of him shows a sturdy, handsome young man with a slight smile tipping the corners of his lips.

But much of Lott's early life seems to be a mystery to those who knew him in New Mexico. Even Millard seemed to know little about him except that he was always cheerful, loved horses and airplanes. He rode a three-wheeled bicycle around town with a smile on his face, taking strawberries to Millard when she worked at a neighborhood grocery store. His neighbors liked him, but he apparently had few close friends outside of Millard's family. Millard said Lott's daughter didn't visit.

A mild stroke left him weak in 2006 and Millard, who was given power of attorney for him, placed him in an assisted-living home. He was moved to St. John's Nursing Home in 2009 and after only a week entered the VA Hospital.

On Friday afternoon, a small group gathered

to honor his service. Deacon Thomas VanValkenburgh of Cristo Rey Church gave the eulogy. The folded flag was handed to Ortiz and he said he will mail it to Lott's daughter, along with the military photo.

A VFW honor guard, made up of fellow WWII veterans, gave him one last slow salute.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055

or [e-mail].