Ohio Couple Talks Of Heroin Overdose In Daughter's Obituary

The 18-year-old is dead, and the culprit is heroin. A couple in Ohio has defiantly displayed the cause of its daughter's death in her obituary. The parents have decided to ignore the bias or stigma involved in it.

Alison Shuemake had just graduated from high school, when she moved into a flat a couple of weeks ago with her boyfriend, Luther David Combs. They were both employed in jobs to support themselves.

She had been in rehabilitation for months before that, due to alcohol and marijuana abuse. She was then supposed to visit her parents, Fred and Dorothy McIntosh Shuemake, in order to do laundry on August 25, reported the Associated Press.

When neither Alison nor her boyfriend showed up, a concerned Dorothy made a call.

Alison's roommate called and said, "something's wrong," according to hngn.

Dorothy ran to the apartment and found that both were "definitely gone." She saw a needle on the floor, according to Yahoo! News.

Hence, at the moment, she called Combs' parents and said that she was going to mention "heroin overdose" in her obituary. They agreed.

A few days later his obituary was published, reading, "Luther David Combs, 31, of Middletown, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, of a heroin overdose."

Some time after that, Alison's obituary was published as well, giving the same reason.

The scenes are heart-rending. "Dorothy sat at a table covered with photos of Alison: the high school diploma earned this year, awards certificates, and favorite things such as her stuffed bunny named Ashley that says "I love you" in a voice recording Alison made as a small child," according to yahoo.

Dorothy said that the incidence indicates an increase in heroin deaths in the country, but people are reluctant to mention it.

"There was no hesitation," she said. "We've seen other deaths when it's heroin, and the families don't talk about it because they're ashamed or they feel guilty. Shame doesn't matter right now.

"What really matters is keeping some other person, especially a child, from trying this ... We didn't want anybody else to feel the same agony and wretchedness that we're left with."