I've always loved wandering through cemeteries large and small, new and old (but especially old), often with my camera. Drawn to cemeteries since I was little — nearly always peaceful, beautiful, and filled with history, art, wildlife, and compelling stories — for me they're among the most serene and contemplative places to spend time.

In the past I was fortunate to live within a 5-minute drive or easy bike ride of some good-sized cemeteries and to do more traveling. Now the 2-3 cemeteries within a 30-minute drive are small and well-documented and we travel very little. So my contribution to this site is now mainly research — creating missing memorials when possible and suggesting edits and adding photos to help provide a more complete picture of a person's life. I find it deeply satisfying to be able to fill in missing or corrected information, link family members, and sometimes add documentation that may help clarify conflicting info or aid others in their genealogy research.

Whenever I create memorials for people unrelated or unknown to me, it's in the hope of someday "reuniting" them with their descendants or loved ones on Find-A-Grave. I use Find-A-Grave's transfer guidelines as just that — a guide, and often prefer that a memorial be managed by a loved one who knew and cared for them (even if unrelated) than by a stranger (even if distantly related).

Please feel free to use any of my own grave photos for your family tree; credit is appreciated but not necessary.

Here's some excellent grave photography advice from professional genealogist, Amy Johnson Crow. Very helpful for photo volunteers & anyone else photographing graves…
"5 Photos You Should Take at the Cemetery"
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/5-photos-you-should-take-at-the-cemetery/
P.S. #6 - Check the sides &/or back of a marker for more info about the person or additional names in case the tombstone marks multiple burials.

In addition to genealogy, cemeteries, and history, I'm interested in (and inspired by) the increasing natural & sustainable alternatives to traditional burial & cremation. We're fortunate to have such choices in our state & advocate for more of them in more places.

I also do a lot of reading and love collecting quotes. Enjoy…

"Personally I have no bone to pick with graveyards, I take the air there willingly,
perhaps more willingly than elsewhere, when take the air I must."
~Samuel Beckett, 1906 -1989

"Cemeteries are interesting. They're worth visiting and they're worth studying.
If we take the time to listen to what the stories might tell us, we have a lot to learn."
~Richard F. Veit, Ph.D.
Professor of Archeology, Anthropology, & History

"If my decomposing carcass helps nourish the roots of a juniper tree
or the wings of a vulture — that is immortality enough for me…"
~Edward Abbey, "Desert Solitaire," 1968

"I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love.
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles…
Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you."
~Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," 1892

I've always loved wandering through cemeteries large and small, new and old (but especially old), often with my camera. Drawn to cemeteries since I was little — nearly always peaceful, beautiful, and filled with history, art, wildlife, and compelling stories — for me they're among the most serene and contemplative places to spend time.

In the past I was fortunate to live within a 5-minute drive or easy bike ride of some good-sized cemeteries and to do more traveling. Now the 2-3 cemeteries within a 30-minute drive are small and well-documented and we travel very little. So my contribution to this site is now mainly research — creating missing memorials when possible and suggesting edits and adding photos to help provide a more complete picture of a person's life. I find it deeply satisfying to be able to fill in missing or corrected information, link family members, and sometimes add documentation that may help clarify conflicting info or aid others in their genealogy research.

Whenever I create memorials for people unrelated or unknown to me, it's in the hope of someday "reuniting" them with their descendants or loved ones on Find-A-Grave. I use Find-A-Grave's transfer guidelines as just that — a guide, and often prefer that a memorial be managed by a loved one who knew and cared for them (even if unrelated) than by a stranger (even if distantly related).

Please feel free to use any of my own grave photos for your family tree; credit is appreciated but not necessary.

Here's some excellent grave photography advice from professional genealogist, Amy Johnson Crow. Very helpful for photo volunteers & anyone else photographing graves…
"5 Photos You Should Take at the Cemetery"
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/5-photos-you-should-take-at-the-cemetery/
P.S. #6 - Check the sides &/or back of a marker for more info about the person or additional names in case the tombstone marks multiple burials.

In addition to genealogy, cemeteries, and history, I'm interested in (and inspired by) the increasing natural & sustainable alternatives to traditional burial & cremation. We're fortunate to have such choices in our state & advocate for more of them in more places.

I also do a lot of reading and love collecting quotes. Enjoy…

"Personally I have no bone to pick with graveyards, I take the air there willingly,
perhaps more willingly than elsewhere, when take the air I must."
~Samuel Beckett, 1906 -1989

"Cemeteries are interesting. They're worth visiting and they're worth studying.
If we take the time to listen to what the stories might tell us, we have a lot to learn."
~Richard F. Veit, Ph.D.
Professor of Archeology, Anthropology, & History

"If my decomposing carcass helps nourish the roots of a juniper tree
or the wings of a vulture — that is immortality enough for me…"
~Edward Abbey, "Desert Solitaire," 1968

"I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love.
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles…
Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you."
~Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," 1892