Congratulations to Jerry & Roger our featured Volunteers of the Month for July, 2020! They’ve worked hard over the years documenting cemeteries in their area and also cemeteries where they have traveled. They manage about 18,000 memorials and have uploaded a little over 16,800 photos to the site.
Jerry originally became involved with Find a Grave completely by chance. While researching both he and his spouse’s family lines, Jerry came across a Find a Grave memorial for one of his own family members. He was “elated to say the least,” learned more about the site and registered to be a member. He had always been an avid genealogist and was excited to add memorials and photos not only for his family but for others too! At the beginning he was using a camera and started photographing individual graves at Roosevelt Memorial Park. Roger was very supportive and interested in cemeteries as well. Soon Jerry and Roger started canvassing sections of 300-600 graves at a time in this cemetery. While adding the photos to Find a Grave, they’d research each memorial to see if there were details that could be sent, such as relationship links or anything that could help a family member find their family. Jerry set aside time each day for uploading and research. He remembered how it felt to find his first family member on Find a Grave and wanted to help others find their family members. Since then, they’ve continued to visit and photograph at cemeteries, even while traveling, and when that hasn’t been possible they’ve been busy researching online and updating memorials.
During the years of visiting cemeteries we learned quickly to spend a few minutes on each grave, cleaning it and then cutting grass and weeds away from the marker so it was readable to not only us but to the person who would be looking at the photo. Over the years we’ve been contacted by many family of those we’ve added thanking us. This has been our reward and makes our day.
They’ve added some beautiful and interesting headstones to the site; cremations buried near a waterfall, hand-painted tiles, waves of angel hair carved into the stone, and others! Here’s a handful from Hawaii, California, North Carolina and Mexico.
Our accolades to you for your extraordinary work in cemeteries! We are so glad that you are Find a Grave members and appreciate all your efforts in recording and memorializing those that have passed.
We welcome your suggestions for Volunteer of the Month. If you’d like to submit a volunteer for consideration in future months, please send an email with details of their work to feedback@findagrave.com.
-Find a Grave Team
Katrina and the findagrave team, thank you so much for this tribute and recognition of the volunteer work I’ve done with the assistance from my spouse, Roger Young. It means so much to be recognized for something I’ve had a passion for. Findagrave is a wonderful site and tool for those seeking their loved ones. I’m just glad I’ve (we’ve) been able to play a part. Thanks kindly, J&R
I used Find a Grave and made entries of my own. A couple of years have gone by now and I don’t remember how to access my account. I don’t know the password to the old e-mail, either. I find your site either on google or facebook.
Hi Catherine, we’d love to help! Please send an email to support@findagrave.com from the email address you registered with on Find a Grave and we’ll assist you further.
What wonderful contributions you’ve made! I’ve been in so many cemeteries just looking since I was in elem school, plus family and friends’ funerals, and my folks would find me wandering all over. I found it captivating to read the stones and wonder who the people were. Please keep up the terrific work!
Linda, thanks very kindly for your message, graving is such rewarding work, I concur with it all being fascinating. Much appreciated, J&R
How do I find a volunteer in NewOrleans and is there a fee for this service?
Thank you.
Hi Karen, you can request a headstone photo from a memorial and the system will send out the request to photo volunteers in the area. If you can’t find the memorial on the site, create it in the correct cemetery first and then click on “request a photo” from the memorial. There is not a fee, we thank members and the volunteering of their time and efforts to help others.
Hi Jerry! Any chance you’ll come back to Woodlawn again?
Hi BJ, I would love to, however in May I had to have rotator cuff and muscles be repaired and just this past Monday I found out that surgery didn’t heal properly and will need to be redone a third time in addition left shoulder will need surgery once right has healed, I have a rotator cuff tear there too. I don’t think I told you but last year I had to have 40% f my colon removed. So as you can tell I suffered one health issue after another. I pray I get to a point where I can go a while without any. Thanks for asking, be safe and take care while out “graving”