Born in 1944 in California, I soon moved to Idaho where I was raised on a farm by my paternal grandparents. I marveled at the stories Grampa told about his family, and wished I knew more. Both my parents died relatively young, so I knew little more than Grampa's stories.

I'd lived in a number of places in western USA until age 20, when I joined the Peace Corps and became a volunteer teacher in India. Most of my career was overseas working in human rights and elections.

Now I have time to pursue my own family history. I found great satisfaction in digging up information on my ancestors and visiting places they once lived. Findagrave helped me find the locations of their graves and extended relationships. Quite by accident, I was given a non-relative profile to manage and then realized how easy it was to create and document my own parents and their parents on the website. The journey has been exciting.

FYI -- My 6th generation ancestral surnames are: Allen, Ames, Bachelor, Barzee, Boice, Broad, Brown, Cadwallader, Campbell, Carson, Caudell/Caudle, Day, Farrell, George, Goode, Hemenway, Hendricks, Hulet, Johnston, Marshall, Middleton, Millar/d, Miller, Posgate/Postgate, Potter, Powell, Wakley, Waterman, Whiting, Wolfe, and Young (Scot clan Lamont).

My direct maternal ancestral line is: Rachel Whiting, Marcena Ames, Sarah Ann Boice, Louisa Marshall, Sarah Goode, Serena Mary Ann Holder, Esther Goode, Mary Parry, Anne Knapp, and Anne Weller. And as I have a daughter who has a daughter, we make a 13-generation maternal line.

Transfers: I will be glad to transfer management of the memorials to those who are closer relatives than I am. Some memorials I have taken on to hold until close relatives have the time to take on management. We are all family in the end.