Genealogy researcher since the mid 1990's. It all began when my mother asked me to help find her father's family which came from England. He died when she was 2 years so she knew nothing of her heritage. The internet was in its infancy and most of my research was done by visiting libraries, writing letters, using books and making phone calls. Ah..... the good 'ole days! My dad and my grandmother died before my interest in genealogy began and sadly they took a lot of family information with them.

My family tree consists of 18,000+ names. My sons are connected to Charlemagne through their French Canadian Ancestors and my granddaughters are descendants of the Mayflower pilgrim William Brewster (their 13th great grandfather).

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I only make memorials if I have a headstone photo which I have taken myself. First of all because I love walking around cemeteries and seeing the various types of monuments, markers and clever engravings. It's quiet and serene and this is where I get my exercise. Secondly, too many mistakes are made on FG when some one assigns cemeteries from obits or burial records (which can be inaccurate and/or change before actual burial). It's very frustrating to get them corrected. This is an ongoing issue and especially when the name of a cemetery is the same or similar to another one. To me Find A Grave means just that - Go Find the Grave!

I am currently filling requests in the Chicago area (north suburbs) and Phoenix/Scottsdale . If I take a grave photo and there is already a grave photo on the memorial I will add mine for 2 reasons: It may be better quality over a photo taken 10/20+ years ago and secondly if there is no GPS attached to the current photo I will add mine which always adds the important GPS.

Please feel free to use any photo I have taken for your own personal use if needed. That is why I do this. Hopefully I found someone important to you in one of my afternoon outings. And I will always transfer when asked. I'm not a collector. I enjoy hearing from folks who have found a family member or friend through a memorial that I created; that gives real meaning to this work and my efforts.

It saddens me to see a gravestone of someone who was born in the same year as me and is no longer here. A Big Fat Reality Check.

Much to my dismay, many folks on this website no longer value those of us who go out and take the grave photo they requested. The Thank You's are few and far between. They don't realize that in a lot of cases, we have to dig out the headstone, fight off ant hills, bees, worms, slugs, and other creepy crawlers, worn out inscriptions, thorn bushes and various other difficult paths to get the photo YOU requested. Remember that a Stranger took time out of their day to help YOU. It's not difficult to click that link and send a quick note of gratitude for your Request.

PLEASE be kind to one another on this site. Stop bullying and harassing. It's not a competition and you do not win Medals ! There is currently too much drama and ugly issues trending here.

Family names: Klimczak, Nawiesniak, Czajkowski, Adducci, Clark, Guimont, Bistodeau, Bambrough

I BRAKE FOR CEMETERIES !

Those We Love Don't Go Away.... They Walk Beside Us Every Day.