Winchester, Kentucky

The Last Supper:  Good Friday should really be called Crucifixion Friday. It was on this day, almost 2,000 years ago, that Jesus made his way through the streets of Jerusalem to the 'place of the scull,' where he was crucified. Little more than twelve hours had passed between the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. Winchester Cemetery. [2017]

Rembrandt's rendition of the crucifixion of Jesus (1631)

Cheyenne, Wyoming

The Last Supper:  From the Passover meal, Jesus and the disciples left the 'upper room' in Jerusalem and went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus confronted his final hours. Arrest came the next day in the wee hours of the morning. The disciples quickly fled the Master, and even Peter denied knowing him. Olivet Cemetery. [2013]

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
Source: Concordia News

Lamesa, Texas

The Last Supper:  Gathered around what would become our contemporary communion table, the twelve disciples take one last meal with the Master. We know who they are because Leonardo identifies them by name in his notebooks. Lundy's Lane Cemetery. [2013]

The disciples identified by name
Source: Dom Donald

Frederick, Maryland

The Last Supper:  Leonardo portrayed Jesus and his disciples at the very moment when he revealed that one of them would betray him. Can you find the traitor in one of the images below? He is the one who doesn't seem to have sprung from his chair after Jesus' announcement. Mt. Olivet Cemetery. [2014]

Which one is Judas Iscariot?

Dillsburg, Pennsylvania

The Last Supper:  On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus shared one final meal with his disciples. Leonardo da Vinci portrayed the gathering like this, and it has been so portrayed ever since. Do an image search of 'last supper' and see how many alternative representations you come up with. Almsot none. What made Leonardo's rendition so popular and so timeless? Why would it be chosen so often as tombstone art? Dillsburg Cemetery. [2013]

Photograph of the original mural in Milan, Italy

Miami, Florida

You've Got Mail!  In your head, put an adjective in front of the word 'letters.' Did you choose the word 'love'? When you think of letters (the old-fashioned variety), your mind automatically goes to "love letters." Ergo, the mailbox becomes the perfect accouterment for a burial plot. But don't forget to have some stamps on hand! Caballero Rivero Woodlawn South Cemetery. [2018]

Florala, Alabama

You've Got Mail!  If you want a mailbox at your grave site, be sure you have enough postage to get a letter off to that special friend who always wants to keep in touch no matter how far apart you two are. Why not gift him a few Forever Stamps? Chapel Hill Baptist Cemetery. [2017]

South Charleston, West Virginia

You've Got Mail!  Over the course of your lifetime, how many envelopes have had your name on them? Have some of them been love letters? If so, remember two things: (1) "Great loves live on." (2) "More than kisses, letters mingle souls." The latter is a famous quote by poet John Donne. Sunset Memorial Park. [2015]

Toms River, New Jersey

How Many Leaves on an Irish Clover ~ Three?  You can't get much more Irish than a field of three-leaf clovers. And, you can't get much more Irish than a last name like this, which is common in the Ireland's west. St. Patrick would be proud; the anniversary of his death comes up tomorrow. But, St. Valentine would be proud, as well, even though the heart was not associated with his holiday until the modern era. The anniversary of his death came up last month. St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery. [2015]

Charleston, Illinois

How Many Leaves on an Irish Clover ~ Four?  Finding a four-leaf clover will bring you luck. He was lucky enough to be deemed "A Legend" and to be a septuagenarian before he cashed in his treasures. Maybe he thought that quadrupartite talisman would also bring him luck on the other side. Roselawn Cemetery. [2017]

Baltimore, Marylnad

How Many Leaves on an Irish Clover ~ Five?  This five-leaf clover is all about Eternal Love. That's why the leaves are shaped like hearts. Judging from the dates, these two were sweethearts were in high school together. married when they were in their 20s, and did not part until he died at the young age of 33. How many children did they have? Three. Now, do the math, and  you will know why the clover has five leaves. Oak Lawn Cemetery. [2014]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  Left: "M.E. Kellogg, Died a natural death, 1882." In other words, he didn't die with his boots on. Right: "Dunlop, one of a band of train robbers, attempted to rob an express car which Milton guarded. He was critically wounded and his friends left him to die. He was found and brought to Tombstone, where he lived long enough to inform on his friends." So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. So, stop pining for the good old days! They really weren't that good. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  John Heath: "Taken from county jail and lynched by Bisbee mob in Tombstone, February 22, 1884. He was called the leader of the five men who were legally hanged and was said to have planned the robbery. He was hanged from a telegraph pole a short distance west of the Court House." So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  Delta William, 1881, suicide. "Colored proprietress of a lodging house on Toughnut Street. Suicide by taking arsenic." She is one of the few women whose graves are marked at Boothill. Another one, however, died of the same cause, suicide, in the same year: Mrs. Pring. She also lived on Toughnut Street. So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. And, right there is enough material for a good short story. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  Will DeLoge, Killed Playing Cards, 1883. We know nothing about his life, and only two things about his death: the year he died and the way he died. Most memorials at Boothill are opposite the norm. In most cemeteries, we are told something about the life and nothing about the death, except the year. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  These are the names immortalized by the "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral." The shoot-out was between the law and the outlaws. Buried here are the Outlaws. "Murdered on the streets of Tombstone, 1881. Tragic results of the O.K. Corral battle, which took place between the Earp Brothers with "Doc" Holiday and the cowboys. Three men were killed and three were wounded." So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. They are celebrities today thanks to the 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  The most famous epitaph at Boothill: Here Lies Lester Moore, Four Slugs From A 44, No Les, No Moore. "Moore was a Wells Fargo agent at Naco and had a dispute with a man over a package. Both died." So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. Here's what the marker looks like today. [1987]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  Thanks to restoration efforts at Boothill, most graves are now marked with wooden boards. Left: Joseph Ziegler, Murdered, 1882. "Ziegler, age 27, was short one night through the left breast and lived only a few minutes. He and Ed Williams, who shot him, were miners and had been quarreling while working that day. The murder took place behind the old ice house, near the corner of Toughnut and Fifth Streets." Right: Here lies George Johnson, Hanged by Mistake, 1882. "Johnson, innocently bought a stolen horse and suffered the consquences." So says the pamphlet put out by the cemetery association. See what a difference three decades has made by comparing the graves then and now. [2018]

Tombstone, Arizona

Focus on the Legendary Boothill Graveyard:  There are more than 250 graves in Boothill Graveyard. None of the markers are of stone: Ironic only because the town (see it?) is named Tombstone. Most of those buried at Boothill died with their boots on: So, not ironic is the name of the cemetery. True to classic cemetery location theory, the graveyard is located on a hill outside of town. It is now open as a tourist attraction. Have you ever heard of anyone buried here? [2018]