Editing Dorothy Parker (section)

=== Burial ===

Following her cremation, Parker's ashes were unclaimed for several years. Finally, in 1973, the crematorium sent them to her lawyer's office; by then he had retired, and the ashes remained in his colleague [[Paul O'Dwyer]]'s filing cabinet for about 17 years.{{sfn|Meade|1987|p=412}}<ref name="ashes-newyorker">{{cite news |last1=Shapiro |first1=Laurie Gwen |title=The Improbable Journey of Dorothy Parker's Ashes |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-improbable-journey-of-dorothy-parkers-ashes |access-date=6 September 2020 |magazine=The New Yorker |date=4 September 2020}}</ref> In 1988, O'Dwyer brought this to public attention, with the aid of celebrity columnist [[Liz Smith (journalist)|Liz Smith]]; after some discussion, the NAACP claimed Parker's remains and designed a memorial garden for them outside its Baltimore headquarters.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Scott |title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More than 14,000 Famous Persons |edition=3rd |publisher= McFarland & Company}}</ref> The plaque read:

{{blockquote|Here lie the ashes of Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) humorist, writer, critic. Defender of human and civil rights. For her epitaph she suggested, 'Excuse my dust'. This memorial garden is dedicated to her noble spirit which celebrated the oneness of humankind and to the bonds of everlasting friendship between black and Jewish people. Dedicated by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. October 28, 1988.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hitchens |first=Christopher |title=Unacknowledged Legislation: Writers in the Public Sphere |publisher=Verso |year=2000 |location=New York |page=293 |isbn=1-85984-786-2}}</ref>}}
[[File:Dorothyparkerlandmark.jpg|thumb|Plaque at Parker's birthplace]]

In early 2020, the NAACP moved its headquarters to downtown Baltimore and how this might affect Parker's ashes became the topic of much speculation, especially after the NAACP formally announced it would later move to Washington, D.C.<ref name="talks_under_way">{{cite news |last1=Prudente |first1=Tim |title=Talks under way to move the ashes of famed New Yorker writer Dorothy Parker from her Baltimore resting place |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-dorothy-parker-grave-20200712-rirzjyfeozda7pubup3ybjbh4u-story.html |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=Baltimore Sun |date=12 July 2020}}</ref>

The NAACP restated that Parker's ashes would ultimately be where her family wished.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dorothy Parker's Ashes Could Be Moved. Again. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/19/us/dorothy-parker-ashes-baltimore.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 19, 2020 |access-date=10 September 2020|last1=Gross |first1=Jenny }}</ref> "It’s important to us that we do this right," said the [[NAACP]].<ref name="talks_under_way" />

Relatives called for the ashes to be moved to the family's plot in [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)|Woodlawn Cemetery]], in the Bronx, where a place had been reserved for Parker by her father. On August 18, 2020, Parker's urn was exhumed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=Kevin |title=Homecoming: Dorothy Parker's ashes buried in New York City |url=https://dorothyparker.com/2020/09/homecoming.html |website=Dorothy Parker Society |access-date=7 September 2020 |date=7 September 2020}}</ref> "Two executives from the N.A.A.C.P. spoke, and a rabbi who had attended her initial burial said [[Kaddish]]." On August 22, 2020, Parker was re-buried privately in Woodlawn, with the possibility of a more public ceremony later.<ref name="ashes-newyorker" /> "Her legacy means a lot," added representatives from the NAACP.<ref name="talks_under_way" />