Woman retrieves father’s ashes 70 years after his death

Rosario was ten years old when she last saw her father, Pedro Pérez Vengut, a commander of the Republican Army. 

Pérez fled from Manresa to live in exile in France, where he passed away in 1954. Rosario is now 88 years old and her dream to one day retrieve her father’s ashes has finally come true.

Manresa’s Historical Memory Association, an organization dedicated to recovering Catalan history, found documents claiming Pérez died in Pamiers, the south of France.

Upon hearing the news, Rosario’s daughter, Dolors, went there to look for the grave of her grandfather. “I found his grave hidden behind weeds,” she explained to the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

They’ve dug up the remains of Pérez and cremated them, the ashes are now with Rosario, who told AC that she can “die in peace now, I have everything I want.” 

A hidden part of history 

Rosario’s daughter, Dolors, discovered many graves related to the Civil War in Palmiers. “While looking around the cemetery we saw many Catalan and Spanish names, there must be many people who are in the same situation as us,” she said. 

The Civil War and subsequent Franco dictatorship cost more than 750 deaths in Manresa. Joaquim Aloy from Manresa’s Historical Memory Association says that uncovering this part of history is very important. 

“It’s a very high number but behind every number is a person and a family,” Aloy said. “It is very important for us to identify people, to put names to the numbers. Because sometimes the numbers do not fully convey the human dimension involved.”