Cpl. Remigio "Ray" Barela will be laid to rest at Oregon Trail Veterans Cemetery in Evansville, Wyoming.

EVANSVILLE, Wyo. — Cpl. Remigio “Ray” Barela told one of his friends that he may have outlived his family, but now, the community is proving that he was never alone.

The 101-year-old World War II veteran died earlier this month. A funeral home in Casper, Wyoming said it wasn’t able to track down his family,and asked the public to attend its ceremony on Friday.

Randy Knudson, who said he was Barela’s friend and landlord, said there’s now expected to be a big crowd at the Marine’s funeral service.

“He didn’t think he had any friends other than me, but this is fantastic,” Knudson said. “The public is coming out to support him.”

Up until before his death, Barela was a farmer and rancher in Wyoming who used to move wagons between that state and Colorado.

Barela was born in La Sauses, Colorado – a tiny community in the San Luis Valley that’s southeast of Alamosa.

Since the funeral home’s plea for people to attend Barela’s funeral, people from across the country have shared information about the service.

Anyone can attend. It’s slated for 10 a.m. on Friday at the Oregon Trail Veterans Cemetery in Evansville, Wyoming. This is a roughly four and a half hour drive from Denver, and the entirety of it is on I-25.

Knudson said it will be a military funeral with full honors.