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]

Seymour, Indiana

Give Me That Old-Time Technology:  Remember how large the first generation of computer screens were? No better than a blackboard for displaying information, said some. Now, blackboards are teaching tools of the past, and computer screen have become smaller, flatter, and so portable. Don't you love this computer teacher's name? Riverview Cemetery. [2017]

Charleston, Illinois

Give Me That Old-Time Technology:  At the Doty Title Company, the upright typewriter was probably their best friend. The commercial typewriter came into prominence in the U.S. in the 1880s; it was first supplanted by the electric typewriter, and then by the computer keyboard; today in the U.S. (but not in the rest of the world) it is extinct. Rosemont Cemetery. [2017]

Madison, Wisconsin

Portraits Etched into Granite:  These two may not be side by side, but they are united by one surname and, apparently, by the Magen David, or Star of David, at the top. It looks like she may have been a convert to Judaism who still took pride in her Christian roots. She chose her Russian Orthodox Church to symbolize her life, and he chose his profession, journalism, to symbolize his. Forest Hill Cemetery. [2019]

Beckley, West Virginia

Identity Headwear ~ Coal Miners:  Cemeteries in West Virginia are packed with miners who spent their lives bringing the nation warmth and creature comforts. Then came the day when they left their mining helmets behind as they ascended from the darkest depths to become one with the Son. Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens. [2014]

Osyka, Mississippi

Identity Headwear ~ Railroad Workers:  Daddy worked for Illinois Central. It looks like even his kids knew him by his hat. He made a living as a railroad man; he made a life as a family man. And his kids knew it: "To the world you may have just been somebody, but to all of us you were the world." Osyka Cemetery. [2018]

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Everybody in Las Vegas is a "come-here." That would include folks with the family name Zechter, which is probably a variant of the Biblical Greek name Zacharias. Here is someone who has chosen a quote, probably from one of his role models, Henry R. Luce, to inspire visitors to his niche: "To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, to draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life." He may have found that purpose at home, but it appears that he also found his purpose in working for the FBI. Palm Downtown Cemetery. [2016]

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Choreographically Yours:  We know that she was a dancer. Was he? To put out those fires, he had to choreograph all the moves that got him through burning infernos. Maybe we, too, are all dancers, and maybe all the world's a stage, our stage, complete with an audience (whether we know it or not).  And, at the end, we all hope for applause. Greenwood Cemetery. [2016]

Appleton, Alabama

Defined by the Regional Economy ~ Logging:  Here lies a truck driver, and a proud one at that! Now you know what he did for a living. What did he do in his spare time? Went fishing. What else? He tended to his family: "Beloved husband, father, son and brother." Weaver Cemetery. [2017]

Valle Crucis, North Carolina

The Holy Estate of Matrimony:  They were married at the Naval Memorial Chapel in Norfolk, Virginia, and are eternally proud of it. Lots of tombstones announce the date of marriage, but few announce the place of marriage. If the pastor here at Holy Cross Episcopal Church ever forgets his Bible, all he has to do is head outside to the graveyard. Eight Bible verses (presumably his and her favorites) are there on this headstone and ready to be quoted from the pulpit. [2012]

Charlottesville, Virginia

Macronutrients in the Cemetery:  The macronutrients in the human diet are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Everyone, everywhere needs all three, but how they materialize in dietary staples varies from culture to culture. Proteins are the hardest to get, and if you can't get them from animals, you get them from wisely combining a few different crops, beans and lentils being the most important. University Cemetery. [2014]