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This is what I call a headstone! Literally. Mr. Joseph Weiss. A beloved husband who left this mortal coil in 1925 at the age of approximately 37-years-old. I wish I could find his obituary. No luck yet. His face completely intrigues me.
Snapped at Home of Peace Memorial Park (East Los Angeles, CA) 7/30/2009
Fifi and I went to Home of Peace Memorial Park today to visit little Linda Joyce Glucoft, a follow up to yesterday's post. Thanks to my graving buddy, Luis Mata, who made the call to get her location, we easily found her within the Chapel Mausoleum. (Hugs to you, Luis!)
It was an unsettling and emotional experience, one I'm not quite ready to write about tonight. I did, however, start a Findagrave memorial page for her, which was a priority goal.
On a much lighter note, while in the mausoleum we also sought out Burt Baskin, co-founder of the Baskin-Robbins "31 Flavors" Ice Cream parlor chain. He's in a modest crypt in the gorgeous Corridor of Peace.
Although we visited many, many graves today, this was my favorite because it provided one of those terrific "I think they wanted to be found" moments.
Fifi was walking ahead of me as I lagged behind snapping photos. I could tell something had happened when she back-tracked to me with a "you won't believe what just happened" look on her face.
She lead me to the Corridor of Peace and showed me the crypt of Dora Baskin, high up on the right side of the hallway. She thought this might be Burt's wife. However, Burt was nowhere to be seen near her.
We're thinking Dora might be Burt's mother
She told me that she then backed up to get a better look at the names and bumped into a crypt. "Oh, excuse me," courteous Fifi had apologized aloud. Turning around to see who she had disturbed, she discovered it was none other than Burt himself, ha!
To celebrate Mr. Baskin's apparent wish to be noticed, and following the graving tradition to patronize businesses of the departed, we stopped at the local Baskin-Robbins on our way home for a cup of his yummy ice cream.
This was actually a no-brainer idea on a hot day like today. Which of the flavors to choose though? I had mint chocolate chip and Fifi had Oreo cookies and cream. Mmm, the perfect way to top off a day of summer grave hunting!
“My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy the ice cream while it's on your plate” ~ Thornton Wilder
I enjoy spending time exploring cemeteries, reading and photographing headstones of celebrities and civilians alike, and learning about the lives and deaths of these so-called "permanent residents" of the graveyards and mausoleums. This blog chronicles those experiences.
GRAVEHUNTING.COM
I am a proud member of The Association of Graveyard Rabbits!
In addition to this blog, some of my older material is archived at Buried Treasures at LisaBurks.com
One of the cemeteries I'm most interested in these days is Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif. I wrote about its legal problems for the LA Daily News' community hub, ValleyNews.com from August 2006 to December 2008, when Valley News ceased operations. In response to reader requests to have one central source of information, I created and continue to maintain Grand View Memorial Park (dot) Info.
"We've gotten a front-row seat to all the twists and turns taking place at the beleaguered cemetery, Grand View Memorial Park, from an intrepid citizen journalist named Lisa Burks." ~ Jason Kandel, ValleyNews.com Editor, 12/28/2006
