Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

"In cocoons, a hidden promise: Butterflies will soon be free!"  His butterfly seems to be a moth drawn to the light or to the lights of Three River Stadium in Pittsburgh. He might have lived a life cocooned in Steeler culture, and now as free as a butterfly. Mechanicsburg Cemetery. [2014]

Lovington, New Mexico

"In cocoons, a hidden promise: Butterflies will soon be free!"  He was probably cocooned in a wheel chair for much of his life, just waiting for the day he would fly off as a butterfly. Maybe he lived a hidden promise in that cocoon as he dreamed about riding that motorcycle all over the state of New Mexico. On this headstone, the hidden promise of the cycle seems to be revealed as a butterfly: off soars his spirit. Lovington Cemetery. [2018]

Matheney, West Virginia

"In cocoons, a hidden promise: Butterflies will soon be free!" Why are there so many butterflies in cemeteries? Because they are the ultimate symbol of freedom (apologies to bald eagles), just as it says on this headstone: ". . . now free as a butterfly, walking hand in hand with Jesus." Two butterflies perhaps double the freedom or perhaps just pay homage to the numeral 2, which accounts for more numbers on this headstone than any of its single-digit competitors. Palm Memorial Gardens. [2019]

Rockford, Ohio

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Coasties:  Maybe you don't think of members of the U.S. Coast Guard as public servants, but you should. They do serve the public. From his memorial, it looks like a job he dreamed about his entire life, and then got to experience it: short but fulfilling life. Riverside Cemetery. [2018]

Andalusia, Alabama

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Postal Workers:  Please, please remember that postal workers are loyal public servants. In fact, please remember to give them a thank-you once in a while. You know, the political climate in which they existed for a while turned chilly. Stone Lake Gardens. [2017]

Hurricane, West Virginia

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ School Bus Drivers:  It is so hard for most school districts to find bus drivers, despite the fact that there the age cohort from which they are drawn is sizeable. Those that do sign up for the job seem to be particularly devoted to serving the public. Just imagine the responsibility. Just imagine the driving skills. Just imagine the chopped up schedule. Just imagine the requisite psychological armor. Just imagine the kids in the back of the bus (maybe you were one of them)! Valley View Memorial Park. [2017]

Canal Winchester, Ohio

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Teachers:  Most teachers don't have to work for 38 years to draw their pensions, so she must have been a public servant in love with her job and in love with her charges. Given her birth year, it is likely she may have begun teaching with only a 2-year normal-school degree. That means she would have been very young and probably not even 60 when she retired. Union Grove Cemetery. [2014]

Cleveland, Tennessee

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ County Judges:  As a county judge and public servant, he presided over the county court system, which, in Tennessee, meant he was more like a county executive. He held the office for over a decade and a half, a tribute to the respect afforded him by the community. The mystery of the headstone hangs over the family name: What letter of the alphabet is that? Fort Hill Cemetery. [2020]

Wellsville, New York

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Rescue Workers:  Rescue has been added to the responsibilities of many fire departments. And, as a loyal public servant, if you were chosen to be responsible for the Jaws of Life, you and your family would probably want to proclaim it to the world. That seems to be the case here. Woodlawn Cemetery. [2013]

Earlville, New York

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Firefighters:  Being a firefighter is no walk in the park. It's a ride on the engine, Engine No. 7 to be exact. What is even more impressive about this public servant is that he did the job as a volunteer and he did it for life. Wilcox Cemetery. [2017]

Toms River, New Jersey

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Police Officers:  Look at the family name. Do you think he was destined to become a police officer? Actually, among Italian immigrants, his name is fairly common. And even in the Italian language, police are called polizia. The word's origins go back to the Greek root for city, polis. St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery. [2015]

Olive Hill, Kentucky

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Sheriffs:  The sheriff has historically been the chief law enforcement officer at the county level in the United States. While the establishment of police departments changed that in some places, the sheriff remains an office of public trust and high responsibility. JOUAM and Eagle Cemetery. [2017]

Phoenix, Arizona

Honoring Our Public Servants ~ Civil Servants:  Civil servants, a subset of public servants, put their education, professional training, and experience to use in serving the general public. For all time, the civil servant buried here will be known as one who was especially firmus et fidelis (steadfast and faithful). Greenwood Cemetery. [2019]

Walla Walla, Washington

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5:  Happy Birthday, Gerard Kremer (a.k.a., Mercator)! This is where your scientific innovations have led: to maps so ubiquitous we find them in cemeteries everywhere. Shall we call this world map the Billy Goat projection or the Donaldson Projection? Mountain View Cemetery. [2019]

Mars Hill, North Carolina

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5: The eagle, globe, and anchor constitute the emblem of the US Marine Corps. Mercator's know-how would have come in handy here. This version of the Western Hemisphere needs some high fidelity. Maps need to be semper fidelis to the globe they represent, not sloppy approximations. Mars Hill Cemetery. [2012]

Richmond, Massachusetts

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5:  Why would this couple choose a world map for their headstone? Well before the Mercator Projection, we learned that maps could be manipulated to tell stories and serve our own interests. How does a Eurocentric map projection serve the interests of this couple? Richmond Center Cemetery. [2019]

Idaho Falls, Idaho

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5: The ironic thing about a world globe is that it never allows you to see the world as a whole. You see only a hemisphere at a time. Enter Mercator: He came up with a system for displaying the round earth on flat paper, making it possible to cut and flatten the entire terrestrial surface. Rose Hill Cemetery. [2020]

Winchester, Kentucky

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5: Mercator, a Flemish geographer, was born on this date in 1512. He was skilled at building globes but made his mark on history with his Mercator Projection, the grandfather of all modern world maps. Mercator's scientific mind modernized the world of mapmaking.  Since then, globes and maps have become symbolic of what goes on in classrooms everywhere. Winchester Cemetery. [2017]