Funny how life works. One day you are flipping through old family photo albums, and the next you are the unofficial family gatekeeper. You are the one who keeps the photographs, remembers the birthdays and the passing days, updates the family tree, and answers questions like "How exactly are we related to Aunt so and so again?"

That is me. And I never saw it coming.

When my grandmother and then my mother passed away, I was heartbroken. I was also surprised to realize how many questions I had never asked. When their photographs and family records landed in my lap, I found a passion for preserving my own family's history. That passion has grown into a desire to help others maintain theirs.

These days, I spend a lot of time in libraries, newspaper archives, and more cemeteries than I can count. Some of my most cherished memories are of helping tend a family cemetery with my grandmother, who always had a story to share about the names we read on those old stones. I wish I had known then that I would be the one to carry those stories forward. I would have listened more carefully.

If you are reading this, chances are you are that person too. You are the one who ends up with the family Bible and the old black-and-white snapshots, the one people call when they are filling out a family tree or wondering what year someone passed away. If that sounds familiar, then welcome. If I can help you in any small way, it would be my honor and my blessing.

Here is how I try to help:

If you would like a memorial I manage, transferred to you, please ask. I only ask that you request changes or transfers when you are certain the information is accurate and when you have a close connection to the person in question.

If you notice something that needs to be corrected, please reach out. I will trust your knowledge and gladly make the change or transfer the memorial to you.

I try very hard to get things right. I care deeply about connecting people with their families. The thought of someone resting in a cemetery with no known ties to loved ones truly saddens me. My goal is to help reunite families, now and forever.

I also want to say this plainly. I am not here to judge. If someone should not be connected to a family for reasons you know to be true, I will respect that and take care of it without hesitation. I also believe every family has its own way of remembering. If you would like to add photos or memories to a memorial I manage, you are very welcome to do so. As long as it honors your loved one and follows Find A Grave guidelines, please feel free to share. If I have posted something you believe is too personal or should be kept private, just let me know, and I will remove it.

Someone once told me that we are all standing on the shoulders of our ancestors. We are lifted by their strength, their sacrifices, and their love. I hope that the work I do and the work you do will continue that legacy and make our ancestors proud.

My only other request is for kindness. I believe that we are each just here for a moment in time, and what we leave behind may be what carries our loved ones' names into the future.

P.S. If I have taken a photo of your loved one's headstone and you would like a copy, it is yours. I do not keep copyrights. It is my gift to you.