Memorial Day With My Mom

I spent a wonderful Memorial Day with my mom, visiting cemeteries she has been going to for years. As a young child I learned the importance of this tradition to my parents, so it has become important to me as well.

We started our day out at the Bay City Cemetery where my brother-in-law Dennis is buried. It is a beautiful secluded location near Idaville, OR. My husband and I will be laid to rest here one day, as well as my siblings and their spouses.














The cemetery is next to the golf course, so my husband is pretty happy about that.














Next we went to Sunset Cemetery in Tillamook, where my Dad is buried. My grandparents (on Dad's side), my Aunt Jessie and Aunt Toddie (Mom's sisters), Bill's parents, and his sister are buried here as well.























The cemeteries are very beautiful with the American Flags as reminders of valiant service.



Next we drove to Siletz, Oregon. On the way up the hill to the tribal center, I saw this old stone fireplace and commented about it. Mom said there used to be a platform here where she came to dance and have barbecues with friends.


Mom's sister Clara and her family are buried here in the Paul Washington Cemetery.







The cemetery is exceptionally beautiful. The Siletz Tribe do not have as many regulations as we have outside of the reservation.



It is a tradition to mound the graves with soil and then cover them with individual flower blossoms. Clara and Ed's son Robert (Bobby) is buried in the closest grave. Ed and Clara are next, and the last grave is a child they lost at a very young age, Sharon Rose.







This is Tinker's grave (Edwina). She was Ed and Clara's daughter. Her girls are the ones that do such a beautiful job with the grave sites.


This is the peaceful and inspirational view as one leaves the cemetery.











After leaving Siletz, Mom and I drove to the nearby Riverside Cemetery in Logsden.
Mom is searching for old Frank's grave (a neighbor she and Ruth were particularly fond of). It was to the right of the tree in the background. She and Ruth bought his headstone and returned often to place flowers there.












Mom put some beautiful roses on Everett Elting's grave.
As we continued down the road, our next stop was Twin Bridges Memorial Park.













Mom's sister's ashes (my Aunt Ruth, or Sandy) were placed in this river.
Mom threw some roses off of the bridge.











As we looked downstream, Mom told about swimming here with her brothers and sisters. There used to be an old covered bridge here, and Ruth used to dive off the bridge and swim all over this deep hole. Mom was always afraid of water so she never went over her head. Then she told me about one time when her brother Mutt (Martin) dunked her and she didn't like it one bit! After a few minutes she sheepishly said, "Well...I actually dunked him first." The things we learn about our parents... :-)

One last beautiful shot before leaving Twin Bridges...











This was a walk down memory lane. This was the stream between Aunt Ruth's and Grandma Pearl's that I used to play in in. I remember finding big old salamanders in this creek!

This home sits where my Grandma Pearl's house used to be. It is secluded and peaceful, just as I remembered this spot.

Our last stop was Eureka Cemetery in Newport, OR.


To our surprise, Grace and Phil Okesson showed up right after us. They are standing next to Pearl and Lester's graves (my grandparents on Mom's side) with my mom.









Becky and Betsy


This is Grace and Phil's new addition!! His name is Bandit and he is adorable...I could have stolen him!










Mom knew right where to go to find her sister Margarette's grave. I never would have found it! Margarette's son Danny is buried here also.
Mom and I had a wonderful day, and it brought back memories for me of memorable times in the past when we all went as a family.