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Father's Ashes Stolen As Thieves Ransack House

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By CARLOS MONCADA

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 11, 2008

TAMPA - The plan was to scatter the ashes of her father over the St. Johns River on Florida's east coast, at the spot where he enjoyed spending his final years catching shrimp.

Until then, Mary Vars, 50, kept the remains of Roger Kasouf Sr. inside a plain cardboard box, safe in one of her bedroom closets. The ashes were a source of comfort for Vars and her brother, Roger Kasouf Jr., as they struggled to come to terms with the death of their father five years ago.

But on Wednesday, burglars broke through the front door of Vars' Wesley Chapel house, ransacked it and made off with a laptop and some personal items, including her father's ashes.

"It has no value to them," Vars said Saturday. "We just really want the ashes back."

The intruders struck in broad daylight, while Vars and her brother were out lunching with friends from out of town.

When they returned a few hours later, they found a house that "was basically totally dumped upside down," Vars said.

The intruders dumped every book off the shelves in her library. They pulled out dresser drawers and emptied the contents on the floor. Police told her they were probably looking for money, guns or drugs.

"The police said it's becoming more of a trend because of the economy," she said. "They said they probably were inside in 10 seconds and probably out in less than 10 minutes."

The ashes were kept inside a brown bag with handles from Hodges Family Funeral Home in Dade City. The bag sat inside a brown cardboard box.

The box was stored in one of two fireproof home safes that Vars kept unlocked, since they contained such things as high school and college diplomas, she said, items with no value to anyone else.

Her father's wish was to have the ashes spread underneath a bridge on the St. Johns River, where he and her mother, Gloria, used to go shrimping when they lived in Brevard County.

"This is the fifth anniversary," said Vars, whose mother now lives with her. "We've all been kind of climaxing to this as the time when we take dad shrimping one more time."

Her father grew up in upstate New York, working as a tool and die maker before going into the restaurant business. He and Gloria retired to the Sunshine State in 1978.

"He was just an amazing person," Vars said. "He would do anything for you. He'd give you the shirt off his back. He was a good man. He doesn't deserve to be just cast aside."

She said she is struggling with a range of emotions: sadness, disbelief, guilt.

"And, of course, the guilt is just overwhelming for my brother and I," she said. "Because it was our selfishness to keep him longer that has us in this predicament."

She hopes the burglars will "have a little pity" and send the ashes back or at least let somebody know where they can be found.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office has set up a hot line at 1-800-706-2488 for anyone with information about the crime.

Reporter Carlos Moncada can be reached at (727) 451-2333 or cmoncada@tampatrib.com.

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