It's March of 2026 & I'm going through kidney & liver failure. Not long for this world

I've recently (August 2022) returned to Cambodia where I lived for many years. I'm not off grid so I'll be checking in regularly. Plus I'm continuing to work on the Catholic cemeteries in Chicago via burial records.

I'm an avid fan of genealogy & family history & Find A Grave is a fantastic resource. I welcome edits & suggestions to improve the memorials I've created.

I was previously working on cemeteries in western Kane Co., Illinois. I photograph the entire cemetery (revisiting for better lighting & clarification) & check each for existing entries, adding photos or creating new entries as needed. I research each memorial before entering them using numerous sources & hunt down parents & children (& sometimes siblings) to link whenever possible. Find A Grave is a great tool for genealogy research if done properly.

In 2015 I worked on:

1). St Gertrude (Forest City, MN) 50%

2). Our Lady (Manannah, MN) 50%

3). St Gall (Elburn, IL) 100%

4). Blackberry (Elburn, IL) 100%

(Thanks to Janet Pearson whose early ('70's) transcription of Blackberry I found at files.usgwarchives.net which proved invaluable in deciphering worn stones).

5). New Hampshire (Lily Lake, IL) 100%

6). Lily Lake (Lily Lake, IL) 100%

In 2016 I worked on:

1). Kaneville (Kaneville, IL) 100%

(fascinating cemetery...Thanks to Susan Smith for info on the numerous Smith descendants.,,Still working the kinks out of some entries with the helpful Dennis Schuett).

2). Baker Cemetery (Lily Lake, IL) 100%

3). Whitney Cemetery (Wasco, IL) 100%

4). Plato Center Cemetery (Plato, IL) 100% (a handful of stones to revisit for clarification).

5). Garfield (Campton) Cemetery (La Fox, IL) 100% (a handful of stones to revisit for clarification).

In 2017:

1). North Cemetery (St Charles, IL). It's a big one

In 2018:

1). North Cemetery (St Charles, IL). Mostly complete. Should be finished this year.

2). Thatcher/Van Vlack Cemetery (Virgil Township). Mostly complete- a few tricky ones left

3). Union Cemetery (St Charles, IL). Another big one. One section complete. Hopefully my winter project.

I slowed down beginning in 2017 due to outside pressures & family concerns occupying much of my time, though I continued to check in regularly to review edits submitted. Early 2018 was mostly spent on my extended family's genealogies (as I'd run out of photos & the weather was unforgiving). With my mother's health rapidly declining it's been difficult to find enough time to get out to the cemeteries for photographing.

I've had a wonderful time digging into Kane County history while researching some of these memorials. With the dearth of Illinois death records available online I'm gratified to be able to fill in some of the "blanks".

Feel free to use my photos for your own personal use... no need to contact me....it's my pleasure.