[Magdalen] cemetery plots...

[James Oppenheimer]

This reminds me of our tour of cemeteries in Long Island a couple years
ago, looking for graves of relatives.  It took us some time to figure out
the arcane method they use to designate graves, but we finally found some,
in many cases, we came down a line of unrelated graves, and at the point
where a stone on one side was one number off and a stone on the other side
was also one number off, we could ascertain that we had found the
grave-site, but family had not been able to put a stone on it.  It was sad.

My in-laws had a child while they were in Pittsburgh. Named Mark, he did
not live long, and was buried with no stone. My beloved spouse sometimes
would talk about Mark. Rarely, but it was on her mind.  She was getting
into genealogy and researched grave-sites, and found a positive hit for
Mark's grave.  She was able to have a stone put on it, and a picture taken
and sent to my in-laws. It did help, I think.  One walks away from these
things, but is never able to leave them behind.  Helen was able to know
that her son now has a proper stone.

We have not planned for our own deaths.  We obviously should, I know.
As things stand now, we want to be cremated and our ashes spread with the
ashes of our companions. I think I'll just say our executor(s) can pick a
nice location that's not too much trouble for them.  Who knows where we'll
be in five or ten years, assuming we live that long?

James W. Oppenheimer
*“If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better
for people coming behind you, and you don’t do it, you're wasting your time
on this Earth.”  -- *Roberto Clemente

On Thu, Oct 2, 2014 at 11:22 PM, Raewynne Whiteley <raewynne1 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> My parish has a cemetery. Assuming the costs includes perpetual care, it's
> actually pretty low.  Cemeteries cost a surprising amount to run -
> maintenance of grass, trees, roads, administrative costs, etc.  We don't
> buy back plots either, but will accept them back as gifts to be used as
> graves for "paupers' burials".
>
> Raewynne
>
> On Thu, Oct 2, 2014 at 3:39 PM, Lynn Ronkainen <ichthys89 at comcast.net>
> wrote:
>
> > My mom is now interested in selling 'her' gravesite, purchased 40 years
> > ago when my father died and she bought 2.  I just got off the phone with
> > the cemetery and, of course, they do not facilitate selling, or buy them
> > back... it was suggested that I run an ad in the diocesan bi-monthly
> > paper.  The current cost of the plot in question? $1,400.  ...
> unbelievable
> > (IMO). One ad is $20. and the person in the classified section said that
> > often these ads run for several months ($20. x number of issues).This is
> an
> > RC cemetery in suburban Detroit.
> >
> > Making 'blowing in the wind' even more appealing, for moi.
> > Lynn
> >
> >
> >
> > website: www.ichthysdesigns.com
> >
> > When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I have
> not
> > a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything You gave
> me."
> > attributed to Erma Bombeck
> >
> > Thomas Merton writes, "People may spend their whole lives climbing the
> > ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder
> is
> > leaning against the wrong wall."
> >
>