Gravestone photography 'coincidence'

17 years ago

Except I don't believe in coincidence. :-)

When I was told the name of the cemetery where my cousin's funeral would take place, I looked it up at FindAGrave to see if they listed an address. They didn't, but they had a picture of it and they listed one photo request.

Someone had requested a picture of the gravestone of a man who died in Belgium during World War II (1944) and was buried back home in New York State. I automatically wrote down the name of the deceased, but didn't claim the request because I really didn't think I'd have the time to look for his grave, even if the cemetery were small.

Well, the cemetery was large. Very rural, very beautiful, but much too big to go tramping around looking for a specific grave, even if I had all day to spend doing it, which I certainly didn't.

So Lizzie and I turned into the cemetery entrance and drove around the wide curve of the road that ran through it. And about halfway to our destination I suddenly thought we'd just passed a stone that read Gockel. I stopped the car and backed up. "Did I just see a Gockel?" I asked Liz.

"Stanley Gockel?" she replied. "Died in 1944?"

You guessed it. I didn't even have my camera, but Liz has a good camera phone, and she took a couple of pictures to email to me.

I haven't believed in coincidence for a long time.

Susan

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Comments (16)

lydia1959
17 years ago
I love your story! What makes this weird for me is that I was JUST at a website reading about coincidences and synchronocities! Came to the KT and there was your post!

I think you should ask to have your story posted at the website. I had one posted there a few years ago. You can ask to not have your email addy posted.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flow Power
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
Lydia, you inspired me to check out that site and see about posting my story (perhaps without the deceased person's name). But when I clicked the email link I got rejected for not having the appropriate email program. I use Outlook. Not sure what the problem is, but I know I'm too tired to figure it out tonight. I'll look at it again tomorrow. But thanks!

And thanks for not holding it against me that I just beat you at the KT Trivia game. :-)
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All my Flickr pictures are public, Lydia. Glad you're enjoying them! I usually go to a cemetery carrying a list of photo requests. If it's a small cemetery, I hope to find the requested gravestone on my own. I did well this time, but this doesn't usually happen. It helps to contact the cemetery manager. Quite often I suspect a very old stone has fallen over, or sunk, or become so smooth with age that the text is unreadable. So while I'm there, I wander around and take pictures of old gravestones at random. Then when I put them on my monitor I look to see if FindAGrave needs them or not. If the deceased person is not listed on FindAGrave for that cemetery, I create a memorial and add the photo. If a memorial is already on the website, but needs a photo, I add mine. If a memorial exists with a photo, I don't do anything with mine. Yes, I can think of two, possibly three, small cemeteries where I photographed every stone in the place. This time I found several stones that disagree with the information already posted for those persons on FindAGrave (different dates, different spellings). I'll contact the people who manage those memorials and point these things out to them.
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I just made contact with a guy who takes pics of cemeteries and he has taken over 87,000 photos for one huge cemetery alone. I actually just went back and read his letter to me to check the number. I had requested some photos for very old headstones and my request was granted almost immediately. Turns out he is in the process of adding all the information for his pictures on find a grave. He just hadn't gotten to my family's photos but had them on his computer. He just doesn't take one photo but will get very close to get dates and then the whole headstone, family plot shots etc. I've sent him family information so that it can be added to the find a grave site. He even made a special trip out to take an additional photo of a Confederate Solider Marker that was barely seen in one of his photos. He brushed it off with a small paint brush (no cleaning product) and took a photo of it. Alisande - I have a couple headstones that I want to post for you to see. One has phrase "Now we know" on it and another has a strange symbol. I'll have to go through my family tree photos to find them. I just read an article from the County where I grew up. One cemetery brought in a herd of goats to eat away the brush and debris so that old graves could be found. One part of it is well kept but I guess the other part has been neglected for years. I have family members at that cemetery, so I will be interested in finding out what is found. Evidently, it took 3 weeks for the goats to eat through all the growth.
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lydia1959
17 years ago
Who said I'm not holding it against you?? LOL I think that was my fastest time ever too (thank goodness for repeat questions).

Good luck with getting your story on the website. There's a lot of neat stories there!
Linda Wayman
17 years ago
I just love when things like that happen. What a story..
Linda
des_arc_ya_ya
17 years ago
Hmm...read a couple of chapters of the book online and it sounds interesting. I may have to order that one!
lydia1959
17 years ago
Des Arc - I have the book and it is one of my favorites! I need to give it another read.
dirt_yfingernails
17 years ago
Wow, what a wonderful coincidence!
dirt_yfingernails
17 years ago
Another coincidence. When the posts first came about the gravestone photos, I put in a request to get my GGrandparents gravestone photographed. I just received an e-mail from a lady who has offered to do it for me in a month or so!
marilyn_c
17 years ago
What a wonderful story. When something like that happens to me....a co-incidence...I always make a wish. I believe it is good luck.
des_arc_ya_ya
17 years ago
Ordered the paperback (used) from Amazon.com, Lydia, on your say-so. If it's not a good read - all the black cats will come across your path and it's NOT because of me, just a coincidence!! LOL
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
That's funny, Ya-Ya!

After looking more closely at that website, I've concluded that I must be at least partly in flow. "Coincidences" happen to me all the time, much more often than when I was younger. I think it started after I lost my daughter. I guess that doesn't surprise me.

I may get the book.....
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
Here's the photo my DGD took with her camera. Pretty good, huh? I just uploaded it to FindAGrave, and learned that the photo request came from a man in the Netherlands. That's where Mr. Gockel died. I told Lizzie she did a looong distance favor.

Stanley was 26 when he died in the war. I wonder if his parents had any more children.
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
OopsÂI meant to say she took the picture with her phone.
naughtykitty
17 years ago
Great quality for a phone. I'm sure they will love that you were able to find it and photograph it.
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
I just got a thank-you note from the man in the Netherlands who made the request. He needed the picture for a Roll of Honor for those killed in WWII action in his hometown. What a nice thing for him to do!

Linked below is a column that talks about the project.

Here is a link that might be useful: Deurne Roll of Honor
foggyj
17 years ago
That is so cool! I too, ordered the book. Got it yesterday. Looks good so far.
The internet has so tranformed the world, hasn't it?

Gravestone photography 'coincidence'

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