I was born and raised north of Chicago in Lake County Illinois. Although I now live in Arizona, my roots are planted in southern Illinois along the Ohio River where my great grandparents had their farm, raised their children and watched their grandchildren grow. I grew up hearing stories of my ancestors and visited cemeteries as a common occurrence. I was blessed by knowing my great grandparents, numerous great aunts and uncles, and cousins that number over 100 and still counting. As I research my extensive branches I often have more questions than answers. I enjoy meeting new cousins and get excited when the puzzle pieces start to fall into place and I get a glimpse into the past. My husband shares my passion and once retired we began spending more of our free time traveling to genealogy libraries and walking cemeteries.

It was because of my volunteer work and posting here on Find a grave that a lost cousin found me and now he has an extended family.

Growing up not knowing my biological father was a challenge, to my great surprise a few years back, a gentleman contacted me with the amazing words "I think we share the same grandpa" after 50 years I met several members of a family I thought was lost forever...all because I posted here on find a grave.

in the past several years, a request to take a photo or look for headstones, I often took as many photos of that cemetery as possible and added photos to various genealogy sites online. many of the photos I have posted are from those requests. I am not related to. I no longer have the ability to walk and take census of cemeteries, however, I will share whatever information I have and would love to gain any information on my ancestors possible.

If you have any questions, would like to make additions or corrections to the memorials, please feel free to notify me. If I am not a direct descendant I will be happy to transfer to you. Please just ask.

My thanks to Findagrave and all the volunteers, this is a wonderful forum and I'm honored to participate.