A Return To Sunset

Part of my goal for going out to Sunset View Cemetery the last time was to see if I could find the grave of my mother's great aunt, Evelyn Law.  I never met Evelyn, and I had surmised from the stories I had heard about her and her siblings that perhaps she was the quiet one.  After a lengthy couple of passes down Row 20 of the Pine Lawn portion of the cemetery, Mike inadvertently discovered that Evelyn was in fact not buried in Row 20, but in Row 19- alongside her second husband and her only daughter, Mae.

One thing that I did not know until the cemetery returned my husband's phone call, was that the marker was made of bronze.  Now I have seen markers like this all the time.  Not in the habit of bending down to touch or disturb the marker, I now know that markers such as these are made of the fine material.  This is important (to me anyway) because bronze will last for a very long time.

Sunset View Cemetery

At the end of a very busy little street in El Cerrito sits Sunset View Cemetery.  Mike and I found out the hard way that the cemetery is deceptively large.  No chance of just stumbling across someone here.  Come prepared by calling the office first.

From the top of the hill one can see from Sausalito in the North Bay to San Francisco.  All but the side that overlooks the bay is surrounded by tall, beautiful trees.  Birds and squirrels were everywhere.  The only audible sound was the wind.

I thought I'd do this post a little differently and just show a few pictures of the cemetery.

Pacheco Cemetery

Pacheco Cemetery is small, and unfortunately, in a bit of sad shape.  Still, I did enjoy my quick trip there today.

I've never seen a cemetery in this area

with such few trees and greenery.

A glimmer of hope-

perhaps this cemetery is being restored.

There are a lot of unknown graves

of early Japanese Americans. 

This stone marks their passing.

Fortunately there are still some families not separated

by time and neglect, such as the Sherman family.

You can read about the unfortunate accident

that caused John Sherman's death here.

Rolling Hills Cemetery

Rolling Hills Cemetery is a very spacious and serene cemetery that sits on top of the hill overlooking Richmond and the San Pablo Bay.  Although it lies next to the highway, it has a very peaceful feel to it.

As I was leaving the cemetery to return home, I noticed a portion of the grounds called "Innocence".  This area contains the final resting place of children who have died.  This post is dedicated to them.

 Karl S. Britt, Jr.

Michael Nelson Holye

 Ashley D. Brawley

Kenyetta E. Ridge

 Justin Seng Phanh

Angelique L. Jackson

 Kyana Delisha Payton

 Tori Shannae Nicks