Family Gravestones
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A Yarnall gravestone (pictured on the right) was located to the left of the steps that go up the hill of the original St. Francis de Sales cemetery. It was about 35 feet up the hill from the stone wall behind the church's lower parking lot. The gravestone had three errors. My grandfather, Grant, died in January 1938 (age 69) and my grandmother, Bridget, died in February 1941 (age 70). She was born in 1871.

Sarah Marie Yarnall Hopkins (Grant and Bridget's daughter) was one of my aunts on the Yarnall side. It must have been a sad day for my grandmother when one of her children preceded her in death. I assume the Hopkins family was nice enough to have the stone include her parents' names when it was placed on the grave. Probably the gravestone was placed sometime after my grandmother died.

In 2008 we replaced it with a new gravestone with my father's name and dates and we corrected the three errors. His cremains were buried on June 27, 2008. A picture of the new stone is on the right. A picture of those at the ceremony is below. Left to right - Polly (my wife), me, Sue (my sister), Bill (my brother), and Louise (our daughter).

Pause your cursor on the box that hands are touching.

The new stone was christened by many birds. My wife thought I should have cleaned the stone for the picture, but I am sure this catches the spirit of what really happens in a cemetery.

The service included a reading by Father Colagreco, some comments about dad's life by each of us, and the reading of Psalm 23 by me. Dad was a very good athlete, a hard worker, and an upbeat guy until his strokes got him. My dad was not buried when he died in March 1993. His ashes were at my sister Sue's house until June 2008.
A gravestone for three of Grant and Bridget's other children (Rose, Bill, and John) is located way up on the hill in the new cemetery beyond the upper parking lot.

It is almost at the top of the property just to the left of a line of trees in this newer section of the cemetery of the St Francis Church.

I had not located where my Uncle George was buried until 2017. The Internet was the way I found this info. Lots of confusion with his middle initial being either J or S in different census years. He had two middle names on his marriage certificate - John and Sylvester.

My Aunt Kay died in 2002. She is buried next to her husband (Thomas M. Scott) in Springfield, PA in the St Peter and Paul Cemetery on Sproul Road. In 2013 I went to take a picture of their headstones and was told pictures are not allowed. Their son Tom was buried in section 21, range 26, lot 79 on 1/14/2013. He was 75 when he died from cancer.

Pause your cursor on the cross and on the lettering in the picture to the left.
The oldest of Grant and Bridget's children was Ellen C (Aunt Nell). She married William E Gorman.

Their names are on their gravestone along with the name of their oldest son (William Jr) and my Aunt Rose.

You can see there is a difference in the dates of death for Rose on the two stones. Aunt Rose took great care of me in my pre-school years. I lost touch after I moved to Springfield in 1943. She did not have a car and neither did my mother and dad. I was in the Army in Germany when she died.

The dates of death for Grant and Bridget's eight children (in date of birth order) were as follows:
Ellen C 12/27/1979 (age 84)
b:2/24/1895
George J S 10/8/1984 (age 88)
b:5/17/1896
Rose C 3/7/1957 (age 59)
b:1/8/1898
Sarah Marie 12/25/1939 (age 40)
b:6/18/1899
 John J 11/27/1990 (age 87)
b:6/2/1903
William E 9/20/1980 (age 74)
b:10/5/1905
Catharine R 1/10/2002 (age 93)
b:6/4/1908
Thomas V 3/8/1993 (age 81)
b:3/14/1911
That is an average age of 75+. Cancer caused Rose and Marie to pass early.
This stone is located in the newer section of the St Francis cemetery far to the left above the side entrance to the upper parking lot. It can be seen from the upper parking lot as you look up the hill. Pause your cursor on the names of Ellen and Rose.
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