"Find a tombstone with your first or last name on it."
I'm one of the only "Brecca"'s in the entire world... so you won't see that name on a tombstone near here until I myself pass away (which I pray won't be for many many more years to come!) and you won't see a Mefford tombstone here in Henderson until my parents pass away (which again, I hope isn't for many many more years to come.)
So I'm sharing with y'all my late Grandmother's tombstone. She isn't buried here in Henderson -- she's buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Charleston, Mississippi County, Missouri.
Her full name was Mina Geneva (Jones) Hendrix Mefford. Unfortunately, she passed away almost eleven full years before I was born. My Dad was only sixteen years old when he lost his Mom. She did pass away here in Henderson. She passed just five days after her 48th birthday.
I think sometimes a big reason I love genealogy is to feel closer to my ancestors - like her. Finding her in censuses, finding old photographs of her, hearing stories about her from my Dad and my Aunt Debbie... it makes me feel like, even for just a few moments, like I knew her. Sometimes I envision what her voice sounded like or how she sounded when she laughed.
If you've still got a Grandparent -- go and hug them today for me. Talk to them about their childhood. Talk to them about when your parents were little. Talk to them about their parents and their Grandparents. Write things down!! Record them!! You will cherish it when they're gone, please believe me when I say that.
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