The very first thing I want to say is THANK YOU to all of you who send me edits for the memorials I manage. I check Find A Grave almost every day and absolutely love it when edits come my way. I use the edit feature often, and it always lifts my spirits when I see them go through. It reinforces that this site is a community effort and we are all working together to make it as complete and accurate as possible.

I have been interested in genealogy for 40 years and have written over a dozen family history books, the first one in 1979. The majority of our family vacations in the 1980s & 1990s revolved around cemeteries and visiting relatives. (Our kids ask why there are so many photos of them posing on headstones!)

When I joined FindAGrave, I kept busy adding our own family members. I knew where most were buried but some had to be searched for. In 2013, my husband and I took a trip through Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota and, in the process, found lots of folks to whom we were not related. I've created memorials for them adding as much additional information as I could find. We were able to fill dozens of photo requests; it felt good being able to pay forward all of the requests that volunteers have filled for us.

I endeavor to make memorials as complete as possible, including headstone photos, bios and links. (I have received permission for obits unless the newspapers are out of print or the copyrights have expired.) I will happily include bios and obituaries to any of the memorials I manage.

You are welcome to use any of the photos I have posted but I would enjoy hearing from you if you do use any.

If a memorial is not part of my extended family, I will happily consider transferring it.

FindAGrave has added so much to my life. I love being a part of it!