Dear Friend of Catholic Cemeteries & Mortuaries

Each Memorial Day, families gather together to show their respect for those who have departed and to honor those who died defending our freedom.  It is an opportunity to celebrate past accomplishment, rekindle memories and spiritually acknowledge our belief in life everlasting. 

One of my strongest memories as a child was our annual Memorial Day journeys to the cemeteries.  I especially remember our visits to Willow Cemetery, Toledo, Ohio, where my grandmother's grave was located.

My father's mother died when he was an infant and unlike most of my friends, I never had the opportunity to personally know my grandmother.  However, each year we would make the trip to my father's birthplace and visit my grandmother Corrine's grave.  We would carefully clean the burial site and memorial making sure that the ground was level and all weeds pulled.  After we completed our annual ritual, we placed fresh flowers on the grave and spent time just being there with her.

It wasn't until several years later that I realized how important this annual journey was to me.  That even though I had never known my grandmother, the visit enabled me to feel a part of her.  To acknowledge that even though physically we never had the chance to know each other, there was a spiritual bonding created by our visits.

Cemeteries are for memories and acknowledgement of a person's past and their future resurrection.  I hope each of you will take time to visit your loved one's burial place this Memorial Day and reflect on past memories.

Memories are important to all of us.

Sincerely,

President, CEO