I am a bit of a fan of history and I love the history you find in cemeteries. My favorites are the old pioneer cemeteries of the west.

Why do I do Find a Grave? For those of you that are looking for forgotten relatives, loved ones, friends and family, I just want to say to you that I do what I do here on Find A Grave, for you. No one should be forgotten! We may not all be rich, or famous, or powerful, or have invented great things but we all made a difference in some way and we deserve to be remembered for the differences we've made. If just by creating a memorial page, I feel that I have done something to remember that person and that they did live and that they did matter.

The information on the memorials that I have created is only as good as the information I had to work with from the beginning. I am sure that there are many mistakes and I will correct every one that I can but if fellow contributor finds something wrong that still needs to be corrected, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Transfers: If you are interested, just ask! I am not hung up on the findagrave.com policies, all that is important to me is that you are better able to add to the memorial than I am. You don't have to be directly related, just willing and able to make the page better.

Photos: There is no need to ask permission to use the photos that I post unless it is to be for commercial purposes. I take these photographs for you so please, use them as you need to. All that I ask is that you source and credit them properly.

To all the Find a Grave photographers out there: if you have a picture to post that is better than one that I have posted, please do and then let me know. If I agree, I will gladly remove mine in order to avoid cluttering up the memorial page.

Someday I know I'll have my own headstone and if I am lucky enough, this is the epitaph that will be on it: (I didn't write it, but I'll be happy to use it)

The Measure of a Man

Not "How did he die?"
But, "How did he live?"
Not "What did he gain?"
But, "What did he give?"
These are the units
to measure the worth
of a man, as a man,
regardless of birth.
Not "What was his station?
But, "Had he a heart?"
And "How did he play
his God given part?"
Was he ever ready
with a word of good cheer,
to bring back a smile,
to banish a tear?'
Not "What was his church?"
Nor "What was his creed?"
But, "Had he befriended
those really in need?"
Not "What did the sketch
in the newspaper say?"
But "How many were sorry
when he passed away!"

But, at the end of the day, if all my headstone reads is "He was a good man" then, I will be happy with that too!

If you're still reading, maybe you'd like to stop by and say Hi! to some very special friends. They are missed every day! Belle, Sophie, Casey, Rosie and, Luna.

And then, there is the most special friend of all, my mother, Della West. There is not enough space here to tell you how much I love and miss her.

And lastly, if you really want to say hi to someone, say hi to me. I created my own page because I wanted the fun in doing so. I mean, how many people get that chance, or take it when they do have it. Over the next 53 three years (I don't intend to die until the year 2076) I will update the page periodically with my bio, occasional thoughts, and the events of my life. Maybe on the day I do go, somebody will find it a nice read. Anyway, here I am, ME!.

Thanks for stopping by!

I am a bit of a fan of history and I love the history you find in cemeteries. My favorites are the old pioneer cemeteries of the west.

Why do I do Find a Grave? For those of you that are looking for forgotten relatives, loved ones, friends and family, I just want to say to you that I do what I do here on Find A Grave, for you. No one should be forgotten! We may not all be rich, or famous, or powerful, or have invented great things but we all made a difference in some way and we deserve to be remembered for the differences we've made. If just by creating a memorial page, I feel that I have done something to remember that person and that they did live and that they did matter.

The information on the memorials that I have created is only as good as the information I had to work with from the beginning. I am sure that there are many mistakes and I will correct every one that I can but if fellow contributor finds something wrong that still needs to be corrected, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Transfers: If you are interested, just ask! I am not hung up on the findagrave.com policies, all that is important to me is that you are better able to add to the memorial than I am. You don't have to be directly related, just willing and able to make the page better.

Photos: There is no need to ask permission to use the photos that I post unless it is to be for commercial purposes. I take these photographs for you so please, use them as you need to. All that I ask is that you source and credit them properly.

To all the Find a Grave photographers out there: if you have a picture to post that is better than one that I have posted, please do and then let me know. If I agree, I will gladly remove mine in order to avoid cluttering up the memorial page.

Someday I know I'll have my own headstone and if I am lucky enough, this is the epitaph that will be on it: (I didn't write it, but I'll be happy to use it)

The Measure of a Man

Not "How did he die?"
But, "How did he live?"
Not "What did he gain?"
But, "What did he give?"
These are the units
to measure the worth
of a man, as a man,
regardless of birth.
Not "What was his station?
But, "Had he a heart?"
And "How did he play
his God given part?"
Was he ever ready
with a word of good cheer,
to bring back a smile,
to banish a tear?'
Not "What was his church?"
Nor "What was his creed?"
But, "Had he befriended
those really in need?"
Not "What did the sketch
in the newspaper say?"
But "How many were sorry
when he passed away!"

But, at the end of the day, if all my headstone reads is "He was a good man" then, I will be happy with that too!

If you're still reading, maybe you'd like to stop by and say Hi! to some very special friends. They are missed every day! Belle, Sophie, Casey, Rosie and, Luna.

And then, there is the most special friend of all, my mother, Della West. There is not enough space here to tell you how much I love and miss her.

And lastly, if you really want to say hi to someone, say hi to me. I created my own page because I wanted the fun in doing so. I mean, how many people get that chance, or take it when they do have it. Over the next 53 three years (I don't intend to die until the year 2076) I will update the page periodically with my bio, occasional thoughts, and the events of my life. Maybe on the day I do go, somebody will find it a nice read. Anyway, here I am, ME!.

Thanks for stopping by!