Memorial Day 2014

Most Memorial Days we head out to Tooele.  Grandma Bolander and I both have a lot of family there.  when I got home and looked through my pictures I had around 30 different headstones we had visited.  Here are a few of the highlights. 

This is Tamra's Grandfather, Ryan's Great Grandfather.  He died very young.

 

 

This is My Grandfather.  He passed away 4 years ago.  He had a great sense of humor and was such a great example to me. 

 

We like to polish up the headstones while we are there and clean up around them.  The kids are getting really good at doing it. 

 This is Grandma Bolander's Aunt.  Ryan was really close to her before she passed and we named Emily after her. She was Ryan's Grandma's half sister. 

 As I said up above Tamra's Grandpa passed away at a young age.  After he passed away his wife married Fred Warburton and they had Emily Joyce.   When my Grandma Atkin first met Ryan just after we got engaged somehow Ryan's Aunt Joyce came up.  My Grandma was very concerned that Ryan was related to Warburtons from Tooele,  because we also had Warburton's from Tooele in our line and we had to be related.  Once Ryan explained that he himself was not connected through blood then it was ok, and the wedding could go on as planned. 
       I had not really looked into it further until last month when we visited the Tooele Museum for Joe's school report.  It was then that I saw the picture of Emily Atkin Warburton and realized that she was probably the connection.  I came home that day and looked her up.  Sure enough she was.  She is my Great Great Grandfather, Thomas Atkin Jr's Sister.

 

  Emily Atkin is Emily Joyce Warburton's Great Grandmother.  I am still not sure what that makes her to me,  but it is a little crazy that Emily is related to the person she is named after through both sides of her family.  we had not found her grave site before when we visited Tooele,  but this time we did.  I guess it was meant to be. 

 

This is Ryan's Great Great Great Grandfather.  We take a picture here every year, (since we found it)  because it is the biggest headstone and it is fun to see the kids by it. 

 

I love remembering our loved ones that have gone before us.  It is so fun to see all of these names and talk about them.  Happy Memorial Day!