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We're just back from a trip to Massachusetts to inter my parents' cremains at St. John's Cemetery in Gardner. It was an emotional trip for me and it was something we've been waiting almost 2 years to accomplish since Dad passed in October 2023. Dad, like Mom and Nana, had donated his body to Vanderbilt Medical School. He was assigned to the Class of 2025, so his cremains weren't ready until the 3rd week in August of this year. We were in Massachusetts for the service on the 12th of September.
We took three days to travel to Massachusetts, stopping the first night in Buchanan, Virginia at a VRBO. Mike and I both decided that Virginia is flat out beautiful and that our next vacation will be thru the state on the Blue Ridge Parkway! The second night we stopped in Belton, Pennsylvania and stayed at another VRBO rental. This one was way off the beaten path, but the cabin itself was very nice. We arrived in Massachusetts on the third day and stayed at a place I found on Air BnB. It was a campsite that had permanent RVs set up with a stocked pond just outside the campsite. It was such a great place to unplug, detox and relax. No cell service to speak of, no TV, and no internet. It was HEAVEN!
We took Mom and Dad's cremains to the funeral home along with the grave marker. Afterwards, we drove by Nana's tree house on Regan Street. It was one street over from the funeral home. We met up with Kevin and Cindi and spent some time with them. Scot & Sandy; Roberta, Mary, Stephanie and Tom; Chris and Karen rounded out the siblings who attended. After the service, we all went to eat lunch along with our New England cousins, Donna, Sheila, Sherrill and June. Steve Rockwood also went to lunch with us. Cousin Faye met us at the restaurant and we all had a great time talking genealogy and getting to know each other.
While we were in Massachusetts, I went to Old Sturbridge Village, ate lunch and toured Gardner with Donna, went to Concord and visited the Old North Bridge, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and ate lunch at the Colonial Inn. Mike and I went to Ashburnham so that I could search for the gravestone of David Clark, Jr. Went to the first cemetery on my list, Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery, and against all odds, I found him, along with 3 other generations of Clarks! I was beside myself with happiness! I was standing there in the cemetery taking photos and all of the sudden I realized I had tears running down my cheeks!Yeah, it got to me.
On the way home to Tennessee, we stopped at the same VRBOs and spent the night again. Check the front page to see the photos I took on the trip.
It was a good time and I'm glad I got to spend it with my siblings and Mike.
Sharon
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