Having just recently lost my mother who was nearly 96 years old, I have come to appreciate how precious our time here is and how important it is to be remembered. As a direct result, I have become an amateur genealogist. I began by building my family tree and during my research of my own family members, I became aware of Find-A-Grave, through which I found the graves of an uncle and a cousin.

In gratitude, I became a volunteer contributor and have since photographed dozens (and soon hundreds) of gravesites.

I get just as much satisfaction photographing memorials as deceased family members derive from seeing the results. A classic win/win situation.

It is not an easy task walking miles locating gravesites especially in the winter. Sometimes, the graves are not where you expected them.

Nothing – except my grandson – gives me more pleasure.

I especially appreciate the heartfelt thanks from absolute strangers whose lives I have touched.