PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) A Pittsburg man who fell to his death in a strip mining pit will be buried Thursday, thanks to a group of caring Pittsburg State students.
Mateo V. Lorenzo died on Nov. 24 at a Pittsburg park. His mother, Becky Jones, couldn’t afford to pay for his funeral. A funeral home wouldn’t bury him without the money upfront because Jones owed money for the funeral of her daughter, who died last August.
That prompted Samantha York, who used to work with Jones, to begin raising funds for funeral expenses. She and several other Pittsburg State students held fundraisers, went door-to-door and put out collection cans.
The Joplin Globe reports someone donated $6,500 for the funeral. The money the students raise will go to that donor.