Memorial service being planned for Belleville’s Walker, Aleta Skomski

Arrangements for a memorial service for Aleta Skomski are in the process of being made at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Belleville. Father John Kiselica will do the memorial service and the food committee of the church will put on the meal, at cost.
Aleta was found dead in her Belleville mobile home on Feb. 11. Aleta is known as the woman who was seen by motorists for the last few years walking from place to place throughout the Belleville, Van Buren Township, and Ypsilanti areas. Before that she lived in Rawsonville Woods in Sumpter Township.
Linda LeBlanc, who owns the mobile home park in Belleville where Aleta lived, attended Monday’s regular meeting of the Belleville City Council to ask the council to donate a small space in Hillside Cemetery for Aleta’s ashes.
She said she came to them representing all three communities. She said people have been calling Brown Funeral Home and the Independent asking about Aleta’s arrangements.
“Aleta lived in my trailer,” LeBlanc said. “We have found her sisters and a gentleman came forward to pay for the arrangements.
“I’ve been elected to identify the body because the sisters don’t want to do it,” she said. She later explained that they didn’t want to remember their sister that way.
“They have no money and one of their phones is shut off because they couldn’t pay for it.
“The person who’s donating will help with the arrangements, but there is no place to put the ashes. If they aren’t going to want to look at their sister, they certainly won’t want her ashes.
“We need a small piece of land to put her in Belleville,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc said Aleta didn’t want people to help her and wouldn’t even get in her car when she stopped on the bridge in 12-below weather and urged her to get in the car. She said Aleta said she knew it was Linda, but didn’t want any help.
Before the city council could respond to LeBlanc’s request, John Juriga spoke up from the audience.
He said the First United Methodist Church of Belleville, where he is a member, has a memorial garden and he’s sure it wouldn’t cost anything for Aleta to be put there.
“The people in the tri-community will thank you,” LeBlanc said.
The arrangements will be announced when everything is set up.
This photo of Aleta was furnished by Alexis Bobbitt, co-owner of the Culver’s franchise at Belleville Road and the North I-94 Service Dr., where Aleta liked to eat.