Ashes of 87-year-old woman stolen as family prepares for memorial

The cremated ashes of an 87-year-old Burbank woman were stolen from a minivan parked outside the home of relatives who had planned a memorial gathering this weekend for the woman.

The ashes of Lois LaRocco, who died in late August due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, were contained in a navy blue leather urn that had been left overnight in a minivan as family members prepared for the memorial gathering and wrestled with how to discuss the urn with the woman’s grandchildren.

“I can’t even describe what I feel,� said Lily LaRocco, the woman’s stepdaughter. “It’s just awful. She was entrusted to me. She was supposed to be with me and she is not.�

Lily LaRocco said she picked up her stepmother’s ashes from a local funeral home last week and returned home, leaving the ashes hidden in the back seat as the weekend family get-together approached.

Thieves reportedly broke into the minivan, parked outside the family’s Glendale home, late Sunday, stealing roughly $6,000 worth of valuables, including a brown fanny pack, a purse, various beauty items and the satchel containing Lois LaRocco’s ashes.

“I don’t care about the other stuff. I just want her back,� said Steve Legino, Lily LaRocco’s husband. The thieves took “my kids’ grandma,� he added.

Now the family is asking for the public’s help in retrieving the ashes.

“Everything else can be replaced,� Lily LaRocco said. “But she can’t be replaced.�

Anyone with details about the urn can call Glendale police burglary detectives at (818) 548-4045. To remain anonymous, call Glendale Crime Stoppers at (818) 507-7867.

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Veronica Rocha writes for Times Community News.