ATLANTA — Jason Rumph is reflecting on the memory of his loving grandfather John Clent Rumph, whom he affectionately knew as Buddy.
"He was the sweetest man you could have ever met," he said. "He never met a stranger. He would give out candy to all the kids a church."
Jason and his family lost Buddy a year ago.
"He was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He beat the odds many times," his grandson said. "He was a double Purple Heart recipient so he was actually wounded twice with life-threatening injuries and was able to rescue someone while being injured."
Eight days after his death, the family said someone stole his identity, charging thousands of dollars on a credit card and changing his address.
"On the same day, his status was changed, his license was reissued with a motorcycle license, he was 85 years old," Jason said.
"It made our family angry," he added. "We didn’t think to check on those things eight days after he died. We were still very raw in our emotions."
The family is still concerned about what else a criminal could be doing with this Army Ranger's information.
"The fear is because they have an active license with his information on it," Jason said. "It’s forced a whole new wave of grief because we’re having to rehash this."
The family said there are a few takeaways from their experience that could help other families.
State Rep. Micah Gravley is related to the Rumph family by marriage. He said it's important to make sure that they’re informed in order to keep their information safe.
"You’re going to have to contact the proper authorities to ensure that they do indeed know that this individual is no longer with us," he said.
AARP recommends contacting the following entities:
- The social security administration
- Insurance companies, both medical and life
- All financial institutions
- The Department of Motor Vehicle Services
- The Secretary of State's Office or Voter Registrations and Elections
- Credit agencies
And officials also encourage families to close email accounts and memorialize or delete social media pages. These steps will help keep a loved one's legacy how they left it.
In Buddy's case, his grandson said he lived it "with a standard of good moral character."