Late last month, my friend Jayne Osborne was fulfilling Findagrave.com volunteer photo requests at Forest Lawn Glendale. On her list was William Bean who passed away in 1956.
Turns out the Mr. Bean she photographed wasn't the man his great nephew David, who submitted the request, was looking for. David knew his great uncle, known as Uncle George, died in Burbank and was buried somewhere in Glendale, and that left Grand View Memorial Park, so Jayne kindly referred him over.
Happily, "our" Mr. Bean was David's Uncle George. He was listed under William G. Bean and both his birth and death dates matched up.
I scouted Mr. Bean out during the public visitation on Sunday, in Section M. Not too difficult to find after figuring out his exact location from the working index. Although most markers are grown over, the grass is dry in preparation for its removal so all I had to do was a bit of cutting away and dry scrubbing of the stone.
Whenever I find a grave for a loved one, I talk to the person buried there while cleaning them up, to let them know that they are remembered, loved and who was looking for them. I don't know if the departed hear me, but it does bring a full-circle quality to the experience, and acknowledging the dead feels like the natural and courteous thing for me to do.
Mr. Bean is now present and accounted for, among his family lineage documented online. David even added a photo of Uncle George to his Findagrave page. Seeing heirloom images of the peope I've located and photographed is one of my favorite parts of grave hunting.
This is just one example of how teamwork in the grave hunting community has resulted in yet another happy ending.
Rest in peace, Mr. Bean.
