Looking at Old Stones

It's irony that I'm sitting here listening to 80's Pop music [some of the liveliest made] while looking up ancestors gravestones.
That's what keeps our family alive though, remembering them and including them in works of today. Above is the marker for my grandmother Betty Blythe Hicks Martin. She dies young in 1967. I never thought much of spending time with graveyards until I went on that trip with Dad. Graveyards, in the daytime, are an indicator of the society and times of our ancestors. Compare the cemetery marker for my grandmother in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, LA Co., CA Samuel Mason in Kickemuit Cemetery, Warren, Bristol Co., RI. Samuel died in 1744. The European settlers [particularly the Pilgrims] saw death a different way then we look at it today and their gravestones reflect that.
Both of these photos come from Find-a-Grave. This is a great resource for those of us who can't get to these places for whatever reason.
At www.findagrave.com you can use the search to look for individuals graves or for whole cemeteries. Since this is all voluntary you may not find an ancestor's gravesite. This is where you can participate. If you know where the person is buried you can build a memorial for them and either upload a photo of the grave or request that one be taken by the many volunteers connected with Find-a-Grave. I am one for the Grand Junction, Colorado area.
The wonderful vista photo of my Grandma Betty Martin's marker was taken by David [Memorial# 52253524] and the Samuel Mason stone photo was taken by Julie for a memorial [# 21740252]started by one person and now maintained by another.
When you add photos and information about your family members who have passed on, you are keeping their memory alive and making them part of the family for future generations.