Thursday, November 19, 2009

Carl Reams--Cemetery Visit


On Tuesday, November 17th I visited the grave of my Great-Uncle Carl C. Reams. It was a bit of an emotional event. I was in Los Angeles, CA visiting friends and I asked if they would help me find his grave at Calvary Cemetery. Calvary is a very large Catholic cemetery in the City of Los Angeles with mostly flat headstones. Upon arriving at the Cemetery we stopped at the office and secured a map of the grounds. I had the section, lot and grave number from a document I found online. We proceeded to the Section L "The Assumption Section" and began to locate the grave site. We were not succesful at first, but with the assistance of the a member of the grounds crew and a security guard we found the site. Uncle Carl's grave was indeed marked with a stone.

So, why was it emotional? In my efforts to research my grandmother's family, It occurred to me that she (my grandmother, Florence Mabel Reams Grinnell) would probably have never traveled from Michigan to California to see her brother or to attend his funeral. Therefore, I felt as though I was visiting Uncle Carl's grave for my grandmother. It has made me very pleased to know that a member of the Michigan Reams family paid respect to a relative who lived, worked, and died so far away from the rest of his family. May Uncle Carl continue to rest in peace. You can view my posting for Carl Reams on Findagrave.com. His memorial # is 41739005.